Carroll senior qualifies as National Merit semifinalist

Jackson

Angel Jackson, a senior at Carroll Jr.-Sr. High School, is a semifinalist in the 52nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. She is one of 16,000 semifinalists nationwide.

The only semifinalist from Carroll County, she is the daughter of Marilyn Jackson of Burlington.

Semifinalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,200 Merit Scholarship awards worth $34 million. The awards will be offered next spring.

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must advance to the finalist level of the competition by fulfilling several requirements. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will be selected as Merit Scholarship winners.

Last year, more than 1.4 million juniors in nearly 21,000 high schools entered the 2008 National Merit Program by taking the 2006 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.

The nationwide pool of semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state's percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

To become a finalist, a semifinalist mush have an outstanding academic

record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student's earlier qualifying test performance. The semifinalist and a school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes the student's self-descriptive essay and information about the semifinalist's participation and leadership in school activities.

Approximately 15,000 semifinalists will advance to the finalist level, and it is from this group that all Merit Scholarship winners will be chosen. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

Three types of Merit Scholarship awards will be offered: 2,500 National Merit Scholarships, 1,100 corporate-sponsored scholarships, and 4,600 college-sponsored awards.

Merit Scholarship winners of 2008 will be announced beginning in April and concluding in July.