Grace Braun Cara Coffman Cole Jackson
Terry High School senior Cole Jackson and George Ranch High School seniors Grace Braun and Cara Coffman are all finalists in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program.
This year, 15,000 finalists were named in the National Merit Scholarship Program’s 61st competition. A total of 1.5 million high school juniors initially entered the competition by taking the 2015 Preliminary SAT (PSAT) test.
To become a finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program, students submitted detailed scholarship applications that included information about their academic records, co-curricular activities, leadership abilities, honors, awards and employment.
In March, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) will notify the 7,400 finalists selected to receive Merit Scholarship awards, worth $32 million.
About 16,000 students, or approximately one-third of the 50,000 high scorers, qualify as Semifinalists. To ensure that academically-talented young people from all parts of the United States are included in this talent pool, Semifinalists are designated on a state-representational basis. They are the highest scoring entrants in each state. NMSC provides scholarship application materials to Semifinalists through their high schools.