Chugiak students qualify for National Merit Scholarship program
October 27, 2009 • Meg Mielke, Editor
Filed under 2009-2010
Two students from Chugiak High School have qualified as semi-finalists for the National Merit Scholarship Program. In mid-September, both Dan Bradley and Jarom Christensen made it to this prestigious level of academia.
More than 1.5 million juniors—from over twenty thousand high schools nationwide—entered the 2010 program by taking the 2008 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The semifinalists represent the highest scoring entrants from each state, as well as less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors nationwide. The number of scholarship winners named in each state is based on the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors.
The range of semifinalists varied among high schools. Of the 28 from the Anchorage School District, three were from Dimond High School; two were from Eagle River High School; one was from East High School; two were from Service High School; six were from South High School; twelve were from West High School, and two were from our very own Chugiak High School.
These students will go on to compete in the competition for 8,200 awards worth more than $36 million. To go on to the next level, students must demonstrate excellence in numerous categories including: school performance, test scores, involvement in extracurricular activities and leadership. The winners will be announced in the spring of 2010.
