Stephanie Huynh, 12, qualified as a finalist for the National Merit Scholarship.

On March 30th, Superintendent Edward A. Zuniga entered her 2nd-period class to congratulate her with a certificate for achieving the award.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test—a test which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.6 million entrants each year—and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements.

The scholarship aims to promote a wider and deeper respect for learning in general and for exceptionally talented individuals in particular. It also aims to shine a spotlight on brilliant students and encourage the pursuit of academic excellence at all levels of education. Finally, the scholarship hopes to stimulate increased support from organizations that wish to sponsor scholarships for outstanding scholastic talent.

The first stage required is the scoring of at least 221 on the index score of the PSAT (the qualifying score varies per state). The next stage required a recommendation letter and an essay, as well as the submittal of a qualifying, SAT score.

When asked about how she felt about becoming a finalist,  Huynh said, “It’s a nice gift to have. My first choice [for college] is the University of Southern California, which gives all Finalists a half-tuition scholarship.”

Huynh is the only finalist from Arroyo and was notified about becoming a National Merit Semi-Finalist around October and a National Merit Finalist around February. There are many schools that automatically offer scholarships for Finalists, so long as they identify said school as their first choice to the corporation. For example, there are over 50 colleges that offer full rides for Finalists, such as the University of Alabama, University of Arizona, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Huynh was recently admitted into the University of Southern California and plans to attend in Fall. She will obtain beneficial scholarships to cover tuition as a National Merit Finalist.