National Merit Semifinalists
September 15, 2004

McKinney ISD students earn National Merit Semifinalist recognition 

McKINNEY – The National Merit Scholarship Corporation recently selected five students in McKinney Independent School District as National Semifinalists. All of the students have the opportunity to become finalists to receive one of the 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships available through the National Merit Scholarship Program. 

Three of the students are enrolled in McKinney High School while one of the students attends McKinney North High School. Semifinalists from McKinney High School include M. Beene, R. Rund and J. S. Turrentine. A fourth semifinalist from McKinney High School, M. Coughran, is currently enrolled in the Garland Independent School District. 

The semifinalist from McKinney North High School, B. Whitstone is the first student to ever receive the honor at the school. 

Founded in 1955 to conduct the annual Merit Scholarship competition, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. More than 1.3 million juniors in nearly 21,000 U.S. high schools across the country entered the 2005 National Merit Program by taking the 2003 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). The selected semifinalists represent less than one-percent of high school seniors. 

To become a finalist, each semifinalist must have an academic record of very high performance, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier qualifying test performance. The semifinalist and a school official must submit a detailed scholarship application that includes the student’s self-descriptive essay and information about their participation and leadership in the school and with community activities.

 Approximately 15,000 semifinalists will advance to the finals. Merit Scholar winners will be selected on the basis of their accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

 McKinney High School is located at 1400 Wilson Creek Pkwy in McKinney. The phone number to the school is 469-742-5700. McKinney North High School is located at 2550 Wilmeth Road in McKinney. The phone number to McKinney North is 469-742-4300.

For more information about the McKinney Independent School District, contact Diana Gulotta, Special Assistant to the Superintendent for Communications at 469-742-4095 or at dgulotta@mckinneyisd.net

For more information about the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, visit their website at www.nationalmerit.org