National Merit Finalists

2012-13 National Merit Finalists 

Announced at AHS

Seven Arrowhead High School students are among the best and brightest in America competing for a National Merit Scholarship.

Zachary Bednarke, Kevin Jin, Meredith Johnson, Parker McColl, Leah Pelegrin, Nathan Schneider, and Griffin Tschurwald received the designation in this year's 58th annual National Merit Scholarship program.

To become a finalist, the students must submit a detailed application that focuses on academics, participation in school and community activities, demonstrations of leadership, and other honors received.  Finalists will be determined in February, and winners will be announced from April through July.

“These are outstanding students,” said Superintendent Craig Jefson.  “We are extremely proud of them and the honor they have earned. These seven students represent Arrowhead High School in an exceptional manner and the entire community can be very proud of their achievements.” 

Each of these students earned a score on the PSAT that was high enough to rank them as a National Merit Scholar semifinalist. Roughly 1.5 million high school juniors representing more than 22,000 schools across the country entered the 2012-13 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test last year. To qualify as a semifinalist, a student’s score must be among the highest in the state and the total number of semi-finalists represents less than 1 percent of all high school students in the nation.

The number of semifinalists varies from state to state because the number selected is proportional to the percentage of the total number of graduating seniors in each state. There are 16,000 semifinalists nationwide.

The seven semifinalists at AHS will continue in the competition to become National Merit Scholar finalists by fulfilling several additional requirements in the coming months.

First, they must attain an SAT score that confirms their achievement on the PSAT qualifying test. They must also demonstrate a record of outstanding academic performance throughout high school and be endorsed and recommended by their high school principal.

In addition, the students and school officials must complete a detailed scholarship application that includes a student essay and information about their participation and leadership in school and community-based activities.

Congratulations Zachary, Kevin, Meredith, Parker, Leah, Nathan, and Griffin.