Senior Sarah Grace Engel has been named a National Merit Award finalist, representing the top one percent of all students nationwide. The National Merit® Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. As a finalist, Sarah will be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award. All winners of Merit Scholarship® awards (Merit Scholar® designees) are chosen from the finalist group based on their abilities, skills and accomplishments.

High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT)—a test which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.5 million entrants each year—and by meeting program entry and participation requirements. The top one percent of those students are recognized as National Merit Semifinalists. The semifinalists then submit their SAT scores to confirm their exceptional performance, with the top scores being recognized as National Merit Finalists.

“I studied specifically for the PSAT with the goal of becoming a semifinalist in mind, and really poured myself into the essay I wrote for the finalist application, so this award represents validation of hard work more than anything else,” said Sarah Grace, who will attend Pomona College in the fall.

The National Merit Scholarship Council will notify Sarah Grace sometime between March and mid-June if she is one of approximately 7,400 finalists selected to receive a Merit Scholarship® award.

“Sarah Grace is a remarkable young lady,” said Upper School Principal Tony Jordan. “Talented vocalist, exceptional scholar, positive leader and especially kind, it is no surprise that Sarah Grace is being recognized in the top one percent of high school students nationally. We are blessed to have Sarah Grace in our community.”