Willowbrook senior named semifinalist in 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program

Willowbrook senior Sally Nijim has been named as a semifinalist in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Nijim is one of about 16,000 students who have been named as semifinalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).

According to the NMSC, Nijim now has the opportunity to earn a National Merit Scholarship this spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Nijim must become a finalist, which involves submitting a detailed scholarship application that provides information about her academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors and awards she has received.

According to the NMSC, about 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2014 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). The group of semifinalists includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state and represents less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors. Nijim also received a perfect score of 36 on the ACT, a national college admissions exam that consists of subject-area tests in math, English, reading and science.

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in spring 2016, and recipients will be announced between April and July.

• Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis.
• About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by about 250 corporations and business organizations.
• About 190 colleges and universities are expected to finance about 3,900 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.
• Nijim is a member of Willowbrook’s Math Team, Science Olympiad, Scholastic Bowl, Model United Nations, the Principal’s Leadership Team and a variety of academic honor societies. She also is a chairperson for Relay For Life.

Nijim is applying to top-tier universities, including Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where she plans to major in biology and chemistry and pursue a career as a physician-scientist. Nijim thanks the Willowbrook staff members for their support and guidance.