Semifinalists are selected from about 1.6 million high school students who took the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) during their junior year. These semifinalists are competing for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million. Those scholarships will be announced in the spring of 2019.
Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. To be considered for a Merit Scholar award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level, including academic records, community participation, leadership abilities and honors received. The semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record, be recommended by a school official, write an essay, and achieve SAT scores that validate the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
Victoria Huynh thrives on academics and enjoys academic competitions. She has been a participant in GAC Debate and Mock Trial. She has a passion for politics and women’s rights. Her aspirations for the future are to attend a great university and then pursue medical school.
