Lions’ Pride: UCHS Boasts Two National Merit Finalists this Year!

Over the years our school district has produced many National Merit Finalists, and this year is no different. Seniors Anna Soifer and Ethan Farber have both received the designation of National Merit Finalists – an honor reserved for just 15,000 graduating seniors nationwide (less than 1%) out of the nearly 1.5 million who take the PSAT as juniors. The National Merit Scholarship Program honors students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies, and University City High School has a strong record of producing finalists.

In fact, an impressive 49 UCHS students have been named as National Merit Finalists since 1994. In addition to performing well on the PSAT (which both claim to have prepared for simply by getting a good night’s sleep), Ethan and Anna had to complete an application, write an essay, and take the SAT (to prove that their PSAT scores were not a fluke.) If they go on to become full National Merit Scholars (as about half of the finalists do) they will receive scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, and many schools offer generous merit-based financial aid to anyone who reaches finalist status as well.

National Merit Scholars are expected to be announced in May.

Having attended University City schools since kindergarten (Anna attended Jackson Park Elementary and Ethan attended Flynn Park Elementary) both students cite the dedicated teachers they’ve had as key to their academic successes. Anna says that,

“Over the years I have had the good fortune to have had a number of extremely dedicated teachers. These wonderful people have encouraged my love for learning and helped me to focus on academics. Not a year has gone by since entering UCHS that I have not had at least one teacher that was willing to challenge me - challenges that have helped keep me interested in school and on a path to academic success.”

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