All five students from West Hartford’s Hall High School who were named National Merit Scholar Semifinalists this year have moved on to the finals.

Submitted by Amy Shaffer, Career Center/Student Activities Coordinator, Hall High School

The five seniors from William H. Hall High School’s Class of 2020 who were named National Merit Semifinalists have advanced to become National Merit Finalists. They are Corina Chang, Olivia Fan, Ashley Granquist, Amy Hidalgo, and Rose Kitz. 

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to progress to the Finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title. National Merit Semifinalists are the highest scorers in each of the 50 states, and scored among the top 1% of the approximately 1.5 million juniors who took the PSAT test in the fall of 2018. 

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test – a test which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.5 million entrants each year – and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements.

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