“I know that I can succeed if I just put in the work,” said Hannah Fergus, NDA senior recently announced as a National Merit Semifinalist.

The National Merit Scholarship is an award given to students who score in the top 1 percentile of all PSAT takers. Winning the finalist position grants you a $2,500 scholarship for college.

The PSAT is a practice test taken by juniors in high school testing their English Language, Writing and Math skills. Anyone who scores high enough is eligible to qualify to become a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist.

Fergus had not studied specifically for it in the past. She took the practice test the school had given the night before, but otherwise her preparation method was no different.

“I had done a lot of practice the summer before for the ACT, so I just hoped it would be pretty similar to that,” she explained.

After taking it on October 12, 2022, and later receiving the scores, Fergus was “pretty sure I had scored high enough to be a Semifinalist.”

She earned a 1460 out of 1520 and her selection index score was a 221/228, which placed her in the top 1% of all students.

Her initial target was to have at least a 214 index score because that is what was the cutoff score in Wisconsin the previous year in order to get the qualification. She accomplished her goal and was very happy.

“I was pretty excited and a little surprised because my practice test score wasn’t very high, so I was nervous my score was going to lower than I wanted,” she said.

To become a finalist, an application must be filled out. It contains all extracurriculars of the students and their ACT score, as well as a personal essay, and Fergus just submitted it.

She said that “being a Semifinalist is a pretty cool achievement to have” on her college applications, but becoming a Finalist “could lead to me getting a scholarship to help pay for college.”

She still does not know what college she wants to go to, but she is planning on majoring in psychology and becoming a medical malpractice lawyer.

The process is going to be long and stressful, but Fergus has found a way to deal with it in the past in order to succeed. 

“My biggest challenge has been procrastination, and I overcame this by setting little deadlines for myself. When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I take a step back, go do something besides schoolwork for a little while and tell myself it will all work out.”

She has also learned to get in touch and ask for help when struggling. For the PSAT, Fergus advised others to “stay calm and not get overwhelmed or stressed by the time; just move on to the next question.”

She also suggested spending as much time as possible being productive with schoolwork in study halls and extra time in class.

Even though she has had to put a lot of effort into academics throughout her high school career, Fergus thinks it was ultimately rewarding.

“I never want to be disappointed at the end of the semester and look back and realize I didn’t try as hard as I could have,” she explained. 

Her motivation to keep going was also her parents because they were both valedictorians of their high schools, so it made her want to be successful at school.

“It’s pretty satisfying to see the work I put in be worth it at the end,” she said, especially when it “put me in a position to win money for college.”