Learning Lamps on for the Merit and Prestige

Two of our Grade 12 students, Aditya and Sneha, have made it to the semifinals in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program and now have the opportunity to continue in the competition. They join about 16,000 semifinalists out of about 1.6 million students who enter the scholarship competition. The programme began in 1955 and has become somewhat of a TISB tradition. We reached out to Sneha and Aditya to find out more about their experiences.  

There’s nothing wrong with trying your hardest, even if you don’t end up with the outcome you want – Aditya, Grade 12 

The National Merit Scholarship Programme is an annual academic competition among high school students, for receiving both recognition and college scholarships. Students who meet the program’s entry requirements take the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) or the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT). However, it is not mainly about the scholarship, but the reputation and what it may mean for the future. “Honestly, the actual scholarship isn’t a huge sum [USD 2,500], but the prestige associated with the award usually opens up a lot of doors regarding sponsorships from universities or even corporations", says Aditya. Sneha, who took part in the competition to test her knowledge and skills, agrees: “I felt like it would be a good opportunity to test some of the skills in English and Math that I’ve learnt in high-school.”   

Being part of the competition in these times was somewhat of a challenge. “Writing the PSAT during Covid was especially hard as it was the first time in a long time that I came back to TISB to write the test under strict safety protocols", says Sneha, who feels great having reached the semi-finals and did not expect it to begin with. “I struggled with the Reading and Writing sections on the test”, says Aditya, who managed to overcome his struggle and ended up with a good score by having a lot of focused practice during preparations.  

Both Sneha and Aditya now cast their eyes forward and start preparations for the next round of the competition in February. Aditya gives a suggestion to all students: “To anyone unsure about taking the PSAT – Take it! Who knows, get a good enough score and you might end up being commended or become a semi-finalist!”  

If you would like to know more about the competition and scholarship, visit the National Merit Scholarship website.