Natalie Pottschmidt Named National Merit Semifinalist
Oldenburg Academy of the Immaculate Conception is pleased to announce that Natalie Pottschmidt ’13 has been named a National Merit Semifinalist.
On September 12, officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have earned an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and more than half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
In the 2013 Competition, about 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing 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, Ms. Pottschmidt and Oldenburg Academy must submit a detailed scholarship application in which OA provides information about Natalie’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, and honors and awards received. All Semifinalists must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. From the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level and in February they will be notified of this designation.