Sixteen Edina High School students were recently named as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. These sixteen students are now in the running for the 7,600 National Merit Scholarships, worth around 35 million dollars in total. About 90 percent of the semifinalists will go on to become finalists. Around half of those finalists will become Merit Scholarship awardees.

This is a big honor for the Edina Students who were named. The semifinalists represent the top one percent of the nation’s graduating high school seniors. “I feel honored to be named as a semifinalist, as it means being a part of a group that includes some of the brightest high school seniors across the nation. It also feels good to know that the work I put into preparing for the test ended up paying off,” said semifinalist and EHS senior Dennis Bao.

Another semifinalist, EHS senior Michelle Ip, said that she is, “pleasantly surprised, and happy that [her] hard work paid off.”

Some of the students put a lot of hard work into the Preliminary SAT (PSAT), which is the test that concludes who becomes a National Merit Scholar. “I began preparing primarily through taking many, many practice tests under real testing conditions. I also worked with a tutor on a pretty regular basis to work on the writing section in particular, as that was by far my weakest section,” said Bao.

Making sure to practice under real testing conditions is extremely helpful in doing well. “I would advise students to take plenty of practice tests. There’s really no substitute for getting exposure to the different types of questions. Also, I would recommend taking the practice tests under as realistic circumstances as possible—all in one sitting with the actual time limits to simulate the real test,” said Ip when asked about her advice to people hoping to one day receive this honor.

Another semifinalist, Katrina Weinert, said she was “surprised, and in a state of disbelief” when she found out she was named a semifinalist. However, she stresses that doing well isn’t the most important thing in the world. “The PSAT doesn’t define you, and its not something you should agonize over or feel bad about if you don’t do really well,” said Weinert.

The winners of the National Merit Scholarship Award will be announced next spring.