Eight students from Revere High School have been named National Merit Semifinalists for 2021, after scoring in the top 99.5% of the country’s seniors on the PSAT.

The National Merit Association is a nation-wide program that recognizes and provides scholarships and awards to students with the highest NMSQT PSAT, or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test scores. Using the students PSAT score, the top applicants are accepted and qualify for the next round, giving them the opportunity to become a National Merit Finalist. Once accepted, the finalists will once again apply for the chance to receive National Merit Scholarships.

Senior Joey Klein explained what qualifying meant to him.

“It means a lot to me. When I first saw my score I thought it was too low to get the award, but thankfully, I was wrong. It’s definitely a confidence boost and helps me see that my hard work is paying off,” Klein said.

According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, they created the program to identify and honor scholastically talented American youth, and to encourage them to develop their abilities to the fullest. With only 15,000 U.S. students receiving this honor, senior Abhay Adury explained how this recognition will impact his future.

“I personally don’t think the advantage for elite college admissions will be significant. . . because my current SAT score would have already reflected my ability to score well on standardized tests, and because the applicant pool likely has many others who have similar test scores,” Adury said.

Aside from showing the talent of the students, the high number of qualifiers for a school Revere’s size shows the quality of education students receive. Senior Bella Pignataro explained how this award represents her time at Revere.

“I’m very grateful, and [the award] reflects the quality of the education Revere has given me,” Pignataro said.
Revere senior Cooper Krauth is grateful for the opportunities that this recognition provides.

“It’s very exciting that I, and some of my friends, have this opportunity. I am grateful to be part of this great group of seniors representing Revere,” Krauth said.

To prepare for achieving the finalist ranking, the semi-finalists will need to submit an application. The finalist rankings will be revealed in February. Abdury explained his next steps.

“My next steps include simply submitting the Finalist application, [which] requests my profile, college and career plans, an essay, and my extracurriculars, and then waiting,” Abdury said.

The qualifying test is similar to the ACT and the SAT, two tests that most Revere students take.

“It’s very similar to the ACT, but it focuses more on English and Math,” Klein said.

The following eight seniors received this award: Abhay Adury, Kaitlyn Borcherding, Lance Choi, Jenny Fan, Joey Klein, Cooper Krauth, Bella Pignataro and Alex Summerville.