Two FHS students become National Merit finalists

By Krista Benson

When Dennis Meredith and Andy Christofferson sat down in the cafeteria their junior year to take the PSATs, they were no more interested in the test than any of the hundreds of fellow test-takers. What they eventually walked away out — national recognition, thousands of dollars of scholarship opportunities and eventual merit finalist status — made the test more than worth it, however.

“When I took the PSAT, I hadn’t given it much thought,” said Meredith, now a senior. “Not to say that I’m not glad I got this far … my dad bought me a mud pie and that makes it all worthwhile.”

This October, Christofferson and Meredith were notified that they were semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Competition, a national competition that awards scholarships based upon PSAT scores, SAT scores, curriculum and other academic factors. More than 15,000 students nationwide are designated as semifinalists.

On Feb. 17, Christofferson and Meredith were notified that they had gone to the next level and had been recognized as finalists.

“I was surprised because my math score was lower than I thought it would be,” said Christofferson, who received a 62 on the math section of the PSATS and a 76 on the verbal. “I honestly didn’t think I was that smart.”

Meredith and Christofferson will now be considered for some of the approximately 7,400 scholarships awarded by the National Merit Scholarship Cooperation (NMSC) each year that are worth nearly $28 million, ranging from 2,200 $2,000 scholarships from the NMSC to 1,200 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships to more than 4,000 college-sponsored Merit Scholarships for specific colleges.

“Colleges today are so expensive that I don’t think that anybody can afford it without some kind of help,” said Meredith. “Being a merit finalist opens up a lot of doors.”

About The Arrow | Arrow front page