The following 26 Wilton High School students were named commended students in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program on Monday, Oct. 5:
- Albert Cai.
- Kevin Chabrier.
- Kevin Collins.
- Elliot Connors.
- Andrew Floyd.
- Shannon Golden.
- Jack Heinemann.
- Christina Holmgren.
- Jessica Huffman.
- Daniel Jensen.
- Katherine Kenneally.
- Dean Kim.
- Jessica Kobsa.
- Mariana Lebrija.
- Ashley Li.
- Claire McCullough.
- Theodore Molina.
- Andrew Murphy.
- Riley Nichols.
- Ilana Olin.
- Matthew Ravichandran.
- Joseph Saldutti.
- Catherine Sanna.
- Alexander Scaperotta.
- Maya Seshan.
- Jacob Zellmer.
As commended students, these seniors have placed among the top 5% of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2016 competition by taking the 2014 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, also known as the PSAT/NMSQT.
The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition that recognizes and awards scholarships to high school seniors nationwide.
Commended students are recognized for their “outstanding academic promise,” according to the National Merit Scholarship Program website, and are “named on the basis of a nationally applied selection index score that may vary from year to year and is typically below the level required for participants to be named semifinalists in their respective states.”
Although they will not continue in the competition, some commended students will become candidates for special scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses. Around 1,200 special scholarships are awarded each year, according to the National Merit Scholarship Program website.
Information: nationalmerit.org.