Two Wiltonians named Merit semifinalists

Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis.

Matthew Wang of River Ridge High School, Mackenzie Joy of Sequoyah High School and Paula Ruiz of Woodstock High School each entered the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2014 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test.

Morgan has attended Runnels School since the third grade and was named a 2015 national AP scholar.

Seniors Ryan Bichoupan, Timothy Chan, Samuel Markowitz and Alexa Silver were among the 16,000 students to reach the semifinal round, indicative of less than 1 percent of high school students in the United States.

According to NMSC, each year its program “honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies”. National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of finalists.

“Scoring in the top one percent of competitors in any endeavor is a tremendous accomplishment”, said Dr. Matt Haas, Albemarle County’s Assistant Superintendent of Schools.

With the rising costs of tuition, scholarships are a major part of most college-bound student’s lives. To reach the final round of consideration, they must also submit an essay and recommendations and have a strong high school transcript and SAT scores. “Obviously, the National Merit program doesn’t measure that, but we know what it takes to raise a student with a promising and fulfilling future”.

Trumbull high has four seniors on the National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist list. Approximately 1,000 other scholarships will be awarded by corporations or business organizations to students who meet specific criteria.