Marlborough – Marlborough High School recently received news that four seniors have received very special honors.
Adrian Brown has been named a semifinalist in the 2013 National Achievement Scholarship Program. Brown is one of more than 1,600 black American high school seniors who have been designated semifinalists in the 49th annual National Achievement Scholarship Program by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) officials. These scholastically talented young men and women now have the opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 800 Achievement Scholarship awards worth more than $2.5 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a National Achievement Scholarship, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 80 percent of semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half of the finalists will win an Achievement Scholarship award.
The National Achievement Scholarship Program, conducted by NMSC, is a privately financed academic competition that operates without government assistance. It was initiated in 1964 to recognize academically promising black students throughout the nation and to provide scholarships to a substantial number of the most outstanding program participants. To date, more than 31,900 young men and women have received Achievement Scholarship awards worth more than $100 million.
In addition, Kristine Fantasia has been named semifinalist, and Kaitlin Fauller and Isabella Kundu have been named commended students in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program.
More than 1.5 million students entered the 2013 competition by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQ). The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
Commended students Fauller and Kundu are two of 34,000 commended students nationwide who are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise, having placed among the top five percent of those who entered the 2013 competition.
Fantasia is one of about 16,000 students who as semifinalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million to be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and approximately 440 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC's goals of honoring the nation's scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.
