Juniors Jasper Haag and Kaitlyn Gibson pose for a picture. Photo by Julie Lam.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a competitive academic program that recognizes high school students and award scholarships since 1955. High school students are entered into the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. PSAT/NMSQT is a test that is required for all high school students to take, approximately 1.5 million students enter each year for the scholarship.
In order for students to enter into the National Merit Scholarship Program, students must take the PSAT/NMSQT no later than the third year of high school, be enrolled as a high school student, and be a citizen in the United States. Students’ PSAT/NMSQT results determine whether they meet the requirement score to participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
This year two MHS students, juniors Jasper Haag and Kaitlyn Gibson, received national merit commendations for their outstanding scores in the PSAT/NMSQT. Gibson discovered the news through MHS principal Dana Brown and passed on the exciting news to Haag. Haag was ecstatic and did not “expect to be awarded anything” due to the high score requirement in Massachusetts.
Gibson believed that the test was “pretty easy” and was therefore “confident that [she] would score pretty well.” Similarly, Haag felt fairly “confident on the whole” test. Second guessing and lack of confidence “can be fatal” according to Haag, therefore being confident is a very important factor in taking the PSAT/NMSQT test or any test for that matter. Gibson revealed that she did not study for the PSAT, to support her reasoning Haag expressed that the PSAT tests “what you have already been taught at school” therefore studying was not a high concern for them.
After receiving their recognition, Gibson and Haag mentioned that this gave them a large confidence boost for their future standardized tests. It is quite an accomplishment by Haag and Gibson to be acknowledged by the National Merit Scholarship Program out of thousands of students. Through their achievement, Haag and Gibson represented MHS as a school with high excellence.
