The National Merit Scholarship Corporation honored three seniors with National Merit Scholarships May 2. Kevin Cheng and Lucy Chen, the former editor-in-chief of the Black & White Online, received official scholarships from the NMSC, while Jacob Taswell won a corporate-sponsored scholarship award.

The NMSC rewards academically talented high school students with undergraduate scholarships for those who have achieved success in and out of school, starting with PSAT scores.

This year’s Maryland National Merit semifinalist cutoff score for the PSAT was 221 out of 240. Nationally, about 16,000 students, less than one percent of all seniors, qualified as semifinalists. These students then had the opportunity to complete an application process for finalist status.

The application required follow-up SAT scores, grades, extracurricular involvements and an essay, according to the NMSC. A committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors then selected the winners of both the corporate-sponsored awards and Merit Scholarships from the pool of finalists.

“It’s great for the students, because it reflects hard work and achievement through four years of high school,” principal Alan Goodwin said.

Taswell said he was excited about winning the scholarship and feels it will help him with his future education.

“It’s nice to have the recognition and the monetary help for college,” he said.

Deanna Segall also contributed to this article.