Schools
Two Waukee Seniors Eye National Merit Scholarships
Seniors Nathan DeGraaf and Ashley Young have been named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.
Two Waukee High School seniors, Nathan DeGraaf and Ashley Young, are among 16,000 semifinalists nationwide in the 59th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Their selection qualifies them for competition next spring for some 8,000 National Merit Scholarships worth about $35 million, according to a story on the Waukee Community School District web site.
Since 2010, a dozen Waukee High School students have been named National Merit finalists.
Find out what's happening in Waukeewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
DeGraaf and Young began the competition last spring when they took the 2012 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. They are currently working with their high school counselors to submit detailed scholarships applications that include information about their academic records, participation in school and community activities, leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards they have received.
A semifinalist must have an outstanding record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT scores that confirm the earlier performance on the qualifying test.Find out what's happening in Waukeewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.