National Merit Finalists
Joelle Jach and Daniel Peel have been selected as National Merit Finalists in the 2009
National Merit Scholarship Competition. To become a Finalist, a Semifinalist must have an
outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high school
principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student's earlier performance on the qualifying
test. The Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship
application, which includes the student's self-descriptive essay and information about the
Semifinalists participation and leadership in school and community activities.
National Merit Semifinalists
Lake Park High School senior Sean Tolrud has been selected as Semifinalists in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Competition. They were selected based on test scores of the 2007 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 $35 million.
National Merit Commended Students
Nine Lake Park High School students have been named Commended Students in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program. The commended students are: Lindsey Collins, Kristen Giunta, Ugne Klibaite, Corinne McGinn, Christopher Peel, Elizabeth Pyde, Gurpal Sandhu, Sydney Seal, and Alexandra Wiatr.
About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2009 competition for Merit Scholarship Awards, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million juniors who entered the 2009 competition by taking the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).