Aptos HS Semifinalists
Students Score as Friends and NMS Semifinalists Together
On September 14, 2016 officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 62nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth about $33 million that will be offered spring 2017.
About 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). The nationwide pool of Semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.
A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record through- out high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
National Merit Scholarship winners of 2017 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July.
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It’s much harder to qualify in California because the scoring is higher for states with larger populations or in high scoring states but two local girls, Sarah Hancock (of Aptos) and Sophia Tatum-McNeilly (of Corralitos) have been named as National Merit Semifinalists.
“It’s the first time in seven years that Aptos High has had students as semifinalists in NMS. To qualify they had to be in the top 1% of all students who took the PSAT in October 2015. The cool thing is ever since first grade at Rio del Mar Elementary School they have been really good friends.
“Full disclosure: Sophia is my daughter and she was my student at Rio. We’ve known Sarah for many years. It’s a thrill for both our families that they get this honor together.” – Linden McNeilly
Both Sophie and Sarah are taking part of the Santa Cruz County Office of Education Mock Trial competition with Sophie as the defendant and Sarah her attorney.
We wish Sophia and Sarah all the best in their quest for the National Merit Scholarship.
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Commended Students 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program
Peggy Pughe, principal of Aptos High School announced that Jasmine Casey, Monte deCastongrene, Lucas Hamlyn, and Collin Robins have been named Commended Students in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Nationally 34,000 Commended Students are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise as demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the qualifying test, the PSAT on the basis of a national score. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to these scholastically talented seniors at the AHS Fall Departmental Awards Night.
Monte deCastongrene — “I enjoy playing tennis, running, hanging out with friends, and playing video games. I have been on the tennis team, the cross country team, and in the ROV club for the past three years. Currently, I hope to attend a UC and study computer science.”
Jasmine Casey — “One of my academic goals for this year is to stay on top of all my schoolwork. I have worked hard all through high school, so I want to follow through and earn good grades as a senior as well. I would love to attend a UC such as UCLA, but I am also interested in Claremont McKenna. I am interested in Architecture and Urban Planning. I spend almost all my free time doing gymnastics; it is important for me to balance school and my sport. I am a level nine gymnast, and I have done gymnastics for fourteen years. I am looking forward to my next competition season. Besides gymnastics, I love reading, Korean pop music, anime, and spending time with my friends, family, and cat.”
Collin Robbins — “Some of my interests are cross country, tennis, video games, books and making music. I have felt drawn to science and even though I haven’t been able to decide on a specific field, I think that I would want to work as a researcher in the field of physics or chemistry. I’m looking forward to taking college courses to help decide. I’m planning on going to college on the west coast.”
Lucas Hamlyn — Lucas was the coach of a 9-11 Flag Football Team, the Falcons, this past season. The team made it into the local Super Bowl of Flag Football but lost to the Lions. He really enjoyed coaching those kids. He is now looking forward to graduating, attending UC Berkeley, and majoring in Architecture.
“These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of education excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.” – Julie Edwards, Assistant Principal Aptos High School.
National Merit Scholarship Corporation 1560 Sherman Avenue, Suite 200, Evanston, Illinois 60201-4897 (847) 866-5100