On November 15, Mr. Collins, Fallston High School’s Principal, officially announced the National Merit Scholarship Award winner: Sofia DeAngelis. Sofia DeAngelis is a junior at FHS and graduating early, which is an impressive feat for any student. When asked about the award received, Sofia stated, “I was made aware of [the award] last year after the scores came out, but didn’t know anything about what it meant or entailed.”
With an impressive score of 1380 out of 1500 on the PSAT, Sofia far surpassed her top 99th percentile of the state of Maryland and even joined the >99th percentile of the entire United States. The state average for the 2023 PSAT had been 902 and the average of all testers was 899. The award aims to recognize less than 1% of all high schoolers who earn the highest scores on national tests, with scholarships between $500 and $10,000 being awarded annually.
With the significant contribution of money towards a future in college it greatly contributes to evening out the rising tuition costs within the U.S. “I was also able to put the award on my college applications for that extra boost,” Sofia said. “I didn’t have a specific goal other than to do my best and figure out what needed work for when I took my SAT.”
Achieving such a monumental score on the PSAT, there are bound to be tricks to it, right? “The tactic that helped me achieve my score and win the National Merit Scholarship Award was doing practice tests and discovering which types of problems I tended to get wrong,” Sofia recounted. “Then focusing on practicing those question types more frequently leading up to the testing day… Start preparing ridiculously early, but with very low intensity. Just take it little by little and it’ll be time for the test before you know it!”
Awards like the National Merit Scholarship Awards are rare, so this accomplishment is something to celebrate. “The more your studying becomes a habit rather than a chore, the more likely you are to succeed,” Sofia said, and much like she said, that technique pulled off. Congratulations on your award and score, Sofia DeAngelis!
