By Julia Kim

Staff Writer

PSAT tomorrow. These words haunt the majority of the junior class, testing for the opportunity to become a finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program.

While seniors will enjoy a few hours of extra sleep, underclassmen will follow with the usual routine of attending school at 8:20; this time with a different purpose. Sophomores, like last year, will engage in a practice PSAT to prepare for their upcoming assessment the next year. However, CHS has now steered the freshman class to practice twice before the actual test for a scholarship which I find partially unfair due to the fact that I was never given this chance.

Students must meet the set index scores on the PSAT to be eligible to receive a scholarship through this organization. National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) recognizes the high-scoring participants in September through their schools as a Commended Student or Semifinalist. Commended Students are just short of qualifying as a Semifinalist and do not participate in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, but they do have the possibility of receiving special scholarships from corporations and businesses. Semifinalists must advance to the Finalist rank to be considered for a National Merit Scholarship.

As a student in the present junior class, I feel as if we are obliged to sprout forth our handful of semifinalists- a minimum of at least 20 to match last year’s excellent performance. Good luck, class of 2011.