Two Bay View Academy Students Named National Merit Semifinalists

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI – Cassandra Gendron, of Cranston, and Jessica McDonald, of Tiverton, have been named National Merit Semifinalists for 2017. Both are Bay View Academy seniors, the school said.

The honor means Cassandra and Jessica placed among the top one percent nationwide of all students who in their junior year took the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT)/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

As two of 16,000 semifinalists nationwide, they are both eligible to advance to the finalist competition to vie for 7,500 scholarships worth about $33 million that will be offered next spring, according to the school's press release.

In addition, seniors Sophia Brooks-Randall, of Providence, Krystyna Kula, of Greenville, and Amelia Larson, of Cumberland, have been named Commended Students in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Commended students placed among the top 5 percent of more than 1.6 million students.