Seniors Eleanor Bangs, Parker Daley, Carol Li, and Vineela Vandanapu were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation for their academic achievement. Bangs and Daley are semifinalists, and Li and Vandanapu are commended students. Each was a high scorer on the PSAT. 

“It feels pretty good because it shows that hard work pays off and if you study or if you want to do something and you really try hard, at the end, you still get a little smarter,” said Li. 

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. Approximately 1.6 million high school students enter the program each year and about 50,000 qualify for recognition based on their high PSAT scores. 

For Bangs and Daley, the next steps to be considered a finalist are submitting an application and transcripts by October 9 and taking the SAT or ACT by December 2019.  By February 2020, all finalists will be notified and receive a certificate of merit and scholarships for college.