Student Named National Merit Semifinalist

More than 1.5 million juniors in over 22,000 high schools entered the 2009 National Merit Program by taking the 2009 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). Of those 1.5 million only 16,000 students nationwide - and only 44 in the city of Memphis - qualified as National Merit Semifinalists. We're most proud that 12th grader Maddie Tavin was one of them.

The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,400 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $36 million, that will be offered next spring. We wish Maddie the best of luck on the next - and final - stage!