BY SABRINE BRISMEUR
Each fall, 1.6 million juniors in the United States take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) to compete for prestigious academic awards, which they are eligible for their senior year. For the 2016-2017 school year, Cooper City High School is proud to announce their three National Merit semifinalists: Landon Counts, Hunter Harrington, and Benjamin Goldstein.
“A very small amount of students are contenders, and an even smaller amount are semifinalists,” BRACE advisor Christine Siwek said. “But we want students to be competitive during the PSAT regardless.”
To qualify, juniors must be United States residents enrolled as high school students, projected to enter college no later than fall of 2018. After taking the PSAT/NMSQT, 16,000 students are selected as Semifinalists out of the highest 50,000 scorers in the country.
Cooper City High’s three Semifinalists have the honor of being among the highest scorers in the state of Florida, but must complete an additional application in order to move on as one of 15,000 finalists.
PHOTO BY SAIGE GRIFFIN
“I’m currently applying to become a finalist and potentially be awarded scholarship money,” Semifinalist Hunter Harrington said. “There’s an online application and an essay that need to be completed in order to be considered for the next part of the competition.”
Of these finalists, a mere 7,500 are selected based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments for a National Merit Scholarship (a one-time payment of $2500), a Corporate-sponsored Scholarship (chosen by corporations who sponsored the NMSQT), or a College-sponsored Scholarship (colleges who partake in the NMSQT). The combined worth is over 33 million dollars.
“High achievers may be scholars, and the rewards are high — whether it’s winning merit-based money or getting a scholarship from a sponsor college,” Siwek added. “The National Merit Scholarship Corporation offers so many great opportunities for students who work hard in their studies.”
Full-tuition college-sponsored scholarships are highly prized in particular. Among the long list of colleges are some of the most prestigious universities in the United States, including Northwestern, Rutgers, Vanderbilt, University of Chicago, and Washington State.
“I’m focused on becoming a finalist and hopefully being awarded scholarship money I can use towards going to a selective out-of-state school, like Duke or Johns Hopkins,” Harrington explained. “This distinction will assist me in getting accepted into these schools, and I’m very grateful for that.”
Cooper City High’s contenders are amongst the top of their senior class, and join 55 other Broward County students as public school semifinalists in the competitive scholarship program.
“I wasn’t surprised, because the Class of 2017 really is talented and prestigious,” English teacher Lisa Jones, who has taught all three Semifinalists, said. “The finalists are all so worthy but also so different from each other. Ben [Goldstein] has always been regarded as very serious, but he has a great sense of humor when you sit down and talk to him. Landon [Counts] is also serious-minded, very analytical, but also has a really kind heart and a positive, cheerful side… And Hunter [Harrington] is just so driven. He has ambition, but he always takes time to do things for other people.”
Cooper City High school wishes the best of luck to their three Semifinalists during the final round, and congratulates them on a job well-done.
