A student at Bishop Ireton High School has been named a finalist in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program, according to a news release from the school.
Braden Hoagland, a senior, is one of 15,000 finalists for the competition. Finalists are chosen as the result of high test scores on the PSAT and SAT, outstanding academic achievement and strong extracurricular activity participation.
The competition begins when students take the PSAT in the fall of their junior year. There are 1.5 million entrants in the competition every year and, from there, 50,000 students with the highest PSAT or NMSQT selection index stores, which quantifies critical reading, math and writing skills scores, qualify for the competition.
Finalists are notified in the spring if they are selected to receive one of the National Merit’s post-secondary scholarships. The scholarships are awarded and supported by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, as well as businesses, colleges and universities throughout the country.