Stars in the Making

Every year, gifted students walk the halls of Harborfields. In 1955, the National Merit Scholarship was established as a way to discover the nation’s most talented students and offer them the possibility of financial help so they are able to continue their education.

That sounds great, but how do you qualify for the scholarship? To start, you are automatically entered into the competition when you take the PSAT in your junior year of high school. Approximately 1.5 million students took the exam in 2023, and only 50,000 will qualify for the scholarship. Out of that pool, 34,000 will receive letters of congratulation, but they will not continue in the competition. The remaining 16,000 students are semifinalists, and among them are Harborfields High School seniors Francis DeGregorio, Alexander Meagher, and Andrew Walden.

Because of the students’ stellar performance on the PSAT, they are now in the running for the $2,500 scholarship offered to those who meet the criteria. The exam score a student receives will get him in contention for the scholarship, however, the student’s academic capability is a large part of the decision as well. Luckily, this won’t be a problem for this year’s semifinalists. When interviewed, Francis DeGregorio stated, “Yeah, mid [I think I have a good chance of getting the scholarship]”.

I know all of HF is excited to watch these young scholars pursue their dreams,and we wish them luck on their academic journey!