During the scramble for seniors to complete their college applications, students often simultaneously apply for scholarships to help them pay for their education. Select seniors across campus are being recognized by National Merit Scholarship, possibilities and Questbridge scholars finding ways to distinguish themselves as valuable in the college education world.

These students are seniors Austin Garrett, recipient of the Questbridge scholarship to Yale University, as well as National Merit semi-finalists Colston Merrell and Ellen O’Brien.

Garrett, the current-running valedictorian, was notified on Monday, December 1 that he received the scholarship

“I was really happy when I found out, [and was in] a little bit of shock,” he said.

“It’s like somebody handing you a $250 thousand check.” He continued, “It’s dumbfounding [to] sit there and think someone [is] willing to hand me that much money just for my own education.”

In Garrett’s words, the program consists of about 500 scholarships to one of their 30 partner colleges, “offering very generous financial aid to students with low-income backgrounds who are high-achieving,” paying for essentially all college expenses.

Unlike Garrett, semi-finalists O’Brien and Merrell have no security unless they advance to finalist and continue on to achieve the actual ranking of National Merit Scholar.

AP Literature and AP Humanities teacher Rhonda Duering says that in order to allow yourself the opportunity to compete for financial aid offered through academic organizations like the National Merit, one must take the PSAT. She states, “It’s the only way that you can get enrolled to battle for the National Merit scholarship.”

The finalists will be announced in January.

However, Career Center specialist Pat Phillips explains that becoming a National Merit finalist is an honor in itself. “There are many schools that will give them scholarship money because they are a National Merit finalist,” she says. “They get to add it to their resume and that is a distinguished honor.”

If O’Brien and Merrell advance, though, they could receive many more benefits such as merit-based financial aid from outside parties.

Teachers Duering and Karen Hutchinson were National Merit scholars themselves. Duering explains that the perks of the scholarship extend beyond the title. “My very first year of college I didn’t pay for anything,” she said. “Not books, not food, not room, not board, not anything! It was awesome!”

As a teacher of all three finalists, she describes that what sets them apart is their curiosity. “They like learning,” Duering said. “They try to develop their own ideas about things.”

” One hundred percent of the students [at Perry] that are being awarded these scholarships, at least the ones I know, are really deserving.”

Principal Dan Serrano acknowledges that the increase in merit-based financial aid is an effect of the school’s growth.

“What you’re seeing with our school as we’re getting bigger is that we’re getting more and more students across the board that are achieving awards,” he said. Serrano sees the school’s improving academic reputation as a huge pull-factor for students searching for a high school of choice.