Out of 15,000 students chosen nationally, nine Central students were named National Merit Finalists in March.

“It feels good, but it also feels a little humbling, to be a finalist. Here we are, placed at the front of the school, to represent the top of the classes,” senior Henry Chen said. “Of course, it always feels good to win something.”

According to counselor Paul Milonas, the number of finalists from Central shows that students, families and educators are all working toward a goal of excellent academic achievement. When juniors and sophomores take the PSAT in the fall, approximately 16,000 of the 50,000 highest scorers are named semi-finalists. Semi-finalists are chosen based on a state representational basis, meaning that these students are the highest scorers in the state.

“We tend to see better scores when students set high academic goals, have supportive parents and provide a quality educational environment created by excellent teachers throughout a student’s school career,” Milonas said.

After the semi-finalists are chosen, they can advance to finalist status by maintaining high academic standards and fulfilling other requirements, such as taking the SAT to confirm PSAT score results. Winners will then be determined by abilities, skills, and accomplishments.

“It is important for me to achieve finalist status because it not only aids in my college applications, but it also puts me in a list of possible people to receive scholarships that would be extremely helpful with paying for college costs,” senior Tommy Du said.

Three types of scholarships are awarded to approximately 8,300 finalists, beginning in March and lasting until mid-June. Winners can receive National Merit Scholarships, corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards, or college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards. While National Merit Scholarships are awarded based on state representation, the other options are determined by a student’s career choice or a student’s acceptance into a specific school.

“To me, being a merit scholar means being offered a chance to reach a brighter future ,” Du said.

In order to prepare for the PSAT, Du and Chen encourage students to take advantage of practice tests or even SAT prep classes. According to Chen, practicing the tougher sections will help with other parts as well.

“Standardized testing can be split into different segments of importance. I find English to be a little more difficult, so I spent more time focusing on the little things there. Practice is always helpful, but sometimes you have to relax a little,” Chen said.

Besides the nine students from Central, an additional 18 students from Parkway were named finalists as well. According to Milonas, schools do not receive any benefits other than academic prestige when students achieve finalist status.

“[The Central finalists show] that students, parents and teachers are making education a priority at Central,” Milonas said.

Other finalists include Jonathan Brand, Victor Ge, Tracy Tang, Louis Wang, Hannah Wiedner, Joy Yang and Rebecca Zhang.