By Staff

Editor's note:  Information on Bronxville High School's National Merit Scholarship awardees is from Ann Meyer, Bronxville High School principal.

Jun. 17, 2015:  Each year, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation honors approximately 50,000 students from the million-plus juniors who take the PSAT exam. This year, Bronxville High School reports an impressive record of achievement for the Class of 2015. 

One student was selected a National Merit Scholarship Winner, two were selected as Finalists, and ten were selected as Commended Students. 

Approximately 34,000 of the 50,000 high scorers on the PSAT exam are named Commended Students "on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index score that may vary from year to year," says the National Merit Scholarship Corporation website.

Approximately 16,000 students were named as Semifinalists and were chosen because of their high scores on the PSAT. About 15,000 Semifinalists advanced to the Finalist stage by completing the scholarship application and by meeting the various other requirements prescribed by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (see below).

An April 22, 2015, press release from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation says:  "By the conclusion of the 2015 competition [in July], about 7,600 Finalists will have been selected to receive National Merit Scholarships totaling about $34 million. Winners are the Finalist candidates judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies."

This year's Class of 2015 recipients are listed below.

George Grealy is a National Merit Scholarship Winner.

Catherine Toal and Jared Hendrick were named National Merit Scholarship Finalists. 

Ten students were named National Merit Scholarship Commended Students:

Sean Flanagan
Edward Forst 
Ian Holland
Steven Ircha
Natalie Knight
Sally Kwok
Michael Natsch
Leila Sunier
Charles Tarry
Morgan Taylor

A May 27, 2015, press release from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation explains the procedure in more detail: 

Over 1.4 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools entered the 2015 National Merit Scholarship competition when they took the 2013 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, approximately 16,000 Semifinalists were named on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state's percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors. Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of the nation's seniors. 

To compete for Merit Scholarship awards, Semifinalists first had to advance to the Finalist level of the competition by fulfilling additional requirements. Each Semifinalist was asked to submit a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT® scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance. From the Semifinalist group, some 15,000 met requirements for Finalist standing, and more than half of the Finalists will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2015.

Pictured here (L to R):  George Grealy, National Merit Scholarship Winner, and National Merit Scholarship Finalists Catherine Toal and Jared Hendrick.

Photo by A. Warner