Scholarship Program Recognizes Four Ossining Students for their Academic Promise

The National Merit Scholarship Program this week recognized four Ossining High School seniors for their outstanding academic promise.

The program, which is in its 62nd year, sent Letters of Commendation to Julian Ivanov, John Kim, Nicholas San Martin and Yoo Shin E Tanai.

About 34,000 of the roughly 50,000 highest scorers on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test are selected as Commended Students. They are chosen on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index score. About 1.6 million juniors took the PSAT in 2015.

The Commended Students don’t continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, but some are candidates for special scholarships from corporations and business organizations. Students who meet the criteria can apply. The National Merit Scholarship Corp. chooses the winners after evaluating candidates’ abilities, skills and achievements. The scholarships are either one-time awards or renewable for four years of undergraduate study.

Last week, OHS senior Adriana Scanteianu was selected as a semifinalist in the annual scholarship competition. She is one of about 16,000 students nationwide who qualified as a semifinalist. Semifinalists will learn in February if they are finalists. The National Merit Scholarship Corp. will give out some 7,400 Merit Scholarship awards worth $33 million.

(Photo, from left to right: John Kim, Julian Ivanov, Nicholas San Martin and Yoo Shin E Tanai.)