This year, 34 Solon High School (SHS) students of the class of 2022 were named Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). This ranks SHS as the school in Ohio with the greatest number of Semifinalists. In addition, 16 SHS students were named Commended Students.

Last October, current SHS seniors took the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) along with the rest of the over 1.5 million students nationwide who participated in the program. Based on their scores, around 15,000 students were named Semifinalists and around 35,000 students were named Commended Students. Semifinalists can fill out the NMSC’s Online Scholarship Application (OSA), which requires students to send SAT and ACT scores as well as information about extracurriculars and awards.

“I feel honored to be recognized for my scores,” said National Merit Semifinalist Adina Guo.

National Merit Commended Student Dylan Hirsh discussed her reaction to receiving commendation for her scores.

“Overall, I would say I feel proud of my accomplishments,” Hirsh said. “I’ve spent a decent amount of time focusing on test prep, and seeing it pay off is really rewarding.”

Hirsh talked about what sources helped her get ready for the exam.

“I went to one of the preparatory sessions offered by the school, though this was [during my] freshman year, but I would say the help offered to me by my teachers in class was the most helpful,” Hirsh said. “A lot of my English teachers would have a week or so dedicated to PSAT practice, and this really helped me solidify my confidence and improve my test taking abilities. Khan Academy also had good practice tests available that I utilized.”

As for strategies, Guo shared a number of techniques she used for the PSAT to achieve her score.

“Skimming texts on first reads and looking for redundancy when eliminating grammar multiple choice answers were the most helpful for me,” Guo said.

Hirsh also talked about test taking strategies that worked for her.

“I usually tried to read through the questions before I read the passage during the reading section so I could save time and know what to look for, and I usually tried to cover up the choices and answer them myself before looking at them,” Hirsh said. “For all the sections, I skipped questions I found more difficult and came back to them later in order to maximize the efficiency of the time available to me by focusing on what I knew I could answer.”

On Oct. 13, current SHS juniors took the PSAT. SHS junior, Avantika Pai, shared her thoughts on how the test went.

“Personally, I think it actually went pretty well,” Pai said. “I felt confident. I had taken the SAT two weeks prior so I think [that] was really helpful. I used the actual SAT as practice, practice sessions offered by the school and Khan Academy and College Board test questions. Practice in English class was also very helpful.”

Pai discussed what she would’ve done differently if she had a chance to retake the test.

“Knowing now how it went, I definitely could have focused on math more,” Pai said. “As I mentioned before, it’s very helpful that my English teachers provided help, and I wish math teachers provided it as well.”

National merit recognition for scores presents students with educational rewards. National Merit Finalists receive national recognition and become eligible for a number of corporate and college sponsored scholarships. In February, current Semifinalists will be notified if they have met the qualifications to earn Finalist status.

“Both potentially receiving scholarship money and the academic achievement represented by becoming a finalist are important to me,” Guo said.

Next school year, PSAT scores and a list of Semifinalists will be released for current juniors. Pai shared what becoming a National Merit Finalist would mean for her.

“It would be huge,” Pai said. “It’s a big deal. A scholarship would be great financially, and it would be an honor.”