CHS student is first National Merit Semifinalist since 1981

National Merit Semifinalist John Wagoner (left) will find out if he qualified for the scholarship this spring. Wagoner is the first CHS student to qualify as a semifinalist for the scholarship since 1981. Dawson Reynier (right) qualified as a Commended Student for scoring in the top five percent of those who tested for the scholarship, but did not qualify as a semifinalist.

 Amber Marra

Columbia High School was notified in early September that John Wagoner was named as a National Merit Semifinalist. He is one of 16,000 semifinalists in the 2015 National Merit Scholarship Program in its 60th year of honoring students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Approximately 7,600 National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2015. CHS last had a National Merit Semifinalist in 1981. CHS student Dawson Reynier was also named as one of about 34,000 Commended Students through the National Merit Scholarship Program, meaning he scored in the top five percent of students who entered.

To enter the 2015 program, 1.5 million juniors took the 2013 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test — the national pool of semifinalists includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. To advance to the finals, a semifinalist must demonstrate an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT scores that confirm the earlier qualifying test. The scholarship application includes information about the student’s participation and leadership in school and community activities. About 15,000 semifinalists will advance to the finals.