Seniors Megan Midcap and Jackson Wharton were recently announced as National Merit semifinalists. Students qualify by taking the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in the fall of their junior year. For those who score high enough, reached by about 3% of students, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation names semifinalists based on SAT scores. Participants must also have a confirming test score of at least 26 on the ACT.
“This is basically just purely merit based,” said Wharton, who is also the Big Red Indian and a member of the cross country and track teams. “It’s that one test score, and then you have to go back and take one of the other standardized tests and confirm that you weren’t just a fluke on that one day.”
Among the benefits of being a finalist are the abilities to include the honor on applications and earn scholarships. At some schools, the scholarships are full rides.
“I expected it, but I was happy that it was finally official because this is how I plan on paying for my way through college,” said Midcap, a member of the varsity crew team and second year editor-in-chief of the yearbook. “There were all those doubts and what ifs. Having that concrete answer was very, very nice.”
Wharton has been considering attending multiple colleges, including WVU, University of Georgia, University of Central Florida, University of Alabama, University of South Carolina and University of Oklahoma, all of which will offer either full rides or grant in-state tuition for finalists. He plans on going into aerospace engineering and is considering a second major in mechanical engineering, math or physics. Currently, he’s leaning towards Alabama as it will offer a fifth year of fully paid tuition, and he would be able to complete accelerated master’s programs in that time.
“Those programs, to me, just seemed like a great use of that fifth year and it would be hard to pick against,” said Wharton.
Midcap is planning to go to WVU, but may also attend the University of Michigan, depending on how much scholarship money and financial aid the school will provide for the National Merit. She wants to go into engineering, but feels that she has options to choose from.
“I’m between mechanical or biomedical engineering,” said Midcap. “It just depends on which I find more fun, like really mathy or more biology based.”
Many students who might qualify for National Merit may not know that they can sign up to take the test.
“Anyone younger (should) absolutely look into it because it offers merit scholarships that are massive for just going into the tests and doing a great job,” said Wharton.
