A Letter of Commendation from High Tech High School and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) will be presented by Dr. Giammarella to the seven outstanding scholars. NMSC has recognized approximately 34,000 Commended Students throughout the country, although they will not continue in the competition for National Merit® Scholarships in 2015. Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2015 competition by taking the PSAT/NMSQT® last year.
With a selection Index score of 203 or above, each student ranks among the 50,000 highest-scoring participants of those 1.5 million program entrants. Because they have demonstrated outstanding academic potential, they will be referred by the College Plans Reporting Service (CPRS) to two U.S. colleges or universities that interest them.
Of these 50,000 highest-scoring participants, about 16,000 will be recognized as National Merit Program semifinalists, representing the top scorers in each state, and approximately 34,000 other high scorers will be commended for their performances on the PSAT/NMSQT. Semifinalists will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for Merit Scholarship® awards.
