This week, West Liberty senior Finley Hall was named a Semifinalist by the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.
High school juniors entered the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
Semifinalists that complete the Finalist process become eligible for a $2,500 scholarship awarded by the National Merit Scholarship Program, said Hall.
"Then there's a bunch of sub-scholarships that are sponsored by other companies and colleges," said Hall. "Personally, I really want to go to Grinnell College, so if I go there and I'm a Finalist, then I could get a scholarship from Grinnell for my tuition," she said.
Hall explained that she received the title of Semifinalist through earning top scores on the PSAT last fall. She said that taking the ACT prep class with Ms. Theil last year really helped her succeed on both the PSAT and the ACT.
"I got a one hundred percent on the PSAT math section, I love math. Reading, though, I've always struggled with," said Hall. "The ACT prep class really helped me get a good reading score on my PSAT."
This trimester, Hall said she is taking dual credit classes in history and Strategies For Academic Success, as well as Calculus 2 online, and college-level composition classes. Hall plans to study biology at Grinnell College next year with the goal of becoming an orthodontist. When she's not in class at West Liberty, she works at her dad's orthodontic office making retainers and mouthguards.
In her free time, Hall says she enjoys participating in athletics and playing with her three dogs at home.
Congratulations, Finley, and good luck on the next step of the Finalist process!