Senior Shaan Nagda has been recognized as a National Merit Semifinalist, becoming one of 262 students from Fairfax County Public Schools awarded with this prestigious honor this year.
The National Merit Scholarship is a prestigious award that recognizes and acknowledges high school students who excelled on their PSAT scores taken in 11th grade. Every year, 50,000 high school students are recognized by the National Merit program. Out of these students, approximately 15,000 are recognized as finalists. Winning finalists are awarded a $2,500 scholarship from the organization. Some winners are instead awarded corporate- or college-sponsored scholarships.
Of the 15,000 students recognized, only 7,500 are chosen annually as National Merit Semifinalists. The National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, or the PSAT, qualifies a very small percentage of students for the Semi-finals.
Shaan did tremendously well on the PSAT, scoring an impressive 1500 out of 1520, placing him in the 99th percentile among test-takers in Virginia. “I had a hunch I might be selected,” Shaan said.
Each year, Virginia provides projected scores necessary for receiving the National Merit Scholarship, and his score would have qualified him for the scholarship in both this year and previous years.
Looking back on this PSAT experience Shaan said, “I felt pretty good, I had a cross-country race that day, and I remember telling some of my friends on the team that I think I did really well.”
