MMI students honored in National Merit Scholarship Program

Three MMI seniors were named Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program for 2015.

Andrew Alday, Sarah Moyer, and Jay Solgama received Letters of Commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Alday is the son of Dr. Senen Alday and Dr. Milagros Azcueta-Alday, Mountaintop; Moyer is the daughter of Robert and Susan Moyer, Bowmanstown; and Solgama is the son of Dr. Paresh and Arti Solgama, Mountaintop.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.5 million entrants each year, and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements. The student’s responses to items on the PSAT/NMSQT answer sheet that are specific to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation program entry determine whether the individual meets the requirements to participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program.

Of the 1.5 million entrants, some 50,000 with the highest PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index scores (critical reading + mathematics + writing skills scores) qualify for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program. In late September, more than two-thirds (about 34,000) of the approximately 50,000 high scorers on the PSAT/NMSQT received Letters of Commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise. Although Commended Students do not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, some of these students do become candidates for Special Scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.