National Merit Semifinalists
Lake Park High School seniors Michael Della Penna, Scott Harold, and Emily Kolf have been selected as Semifinalists in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Competition. They were selected based on test scores of the 2006 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test and represent less than one percent of the U.S. High School seniors.
To become finalists, the students must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed by their school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm their earlier qualifying test performance. They must also submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes a self-descriptive essay and information about their participation and leadership in school and community activities. The approximately 16,000 semifinalists have the opportunity to continue in the competition for 8,200 Merit Scholarship awards, worth $34 million, that will be offered next Spring.
National Merit Commended Students
Fourteen Lake Park High School students have been named Commended Students in the 2008 National Merit Scholarship Program. The commended students are: Casey Fergus, Jordana Fink, Alexander Furlan, Robert Hauschildt, William Hirsbrunner, Ryan Kovarik, Daniel Kowalski, Jason Kriz, Ciara Nally, Erica Palmieri, Raj Patel, Jarna Shah, Kevin Wilson, and David Zillner.
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2008 competition for Merit Scholarship Awards, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than one million students who entered the 2008 competition by taking the 2006 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).