TJ SENIOR NAMED NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP FINALIST
Congratulations to Senior Savannah Dillard for earning distinction as National Merit Scholarship Program finalist. The program recognizes the top performing high school seniors in the nation, and earning a National Merit Scholarship means significant merit-based scholarship offers from a wide range of colleges and universities. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation made the announcement recently, and Savannah was recognized at the Upper School assembly yesterday. She was named semifinalist in September, and has now advanced to finalist standing. Semifinalists are students who scored in the Top 1% in the nation on the PSAT, and finalists are selected based on “academic performance that is consistently very high in all of grades 9 through 12.” The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for scholarships, and high school students enter the by taking the PSAT — a test which serves as an initial screen of entrants each year — and by meeting published program entry/participation academic requirements. In the spring, the NMS program will begin awarding scholarships to approximately 7,500 of the finalists across the country. Savannah joins an elite group of people recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program including Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Ben Bernanke, and Joseph Stiglitz.