Wantagh Senior Natasha Meagher Named National Merit Semifinalist
December 12, 2022
Every September, National Merit Scholarship Corporation releases the year’s National Merit Commended Scholars and Semifinalists all over the country. This year, Wantagh High School senior Natasha Meagher, has been named a National Merit semifinalist.
Meagher was recognized because of her high PSAT score, which serves as the determining factor for becoming a National Merit Semifinalist. Semifinalists must be in the top 1% of Junior year PSAT test takers in their respective state, which Meagher achieved, making her eligible to receive a $2,500 scholarship if selected as a finalist.
When asked what her first reaction was to finding out she was a national merit semifinalist, Meagher responded, “I [found out when I] was just sitting in Mrs. Psihos’s class, just doing a little bit of math, and all of a sudden Dr. Guzzone just walked in to see how everyone’s first week was going, and then he said, “oh congratulations,” and then I said “congratulations for what,” and then he said “you didn’t hear,” and I said “no…” So yeah, overall pretty shocked I was, I didn’t really see it coming.” Her advice for future test takers is, “Stay calm and don’t stress yourself out because you know it’s just a practice test.”
As for test preparation, Meagher shared, “The summer before I took that test I took an SAT prep course. I also took the October SAT and then about two weeks after I took the PSAT.” She revealed that going into the test, she “was actually really really tired because it was 7 AM and I knew I had to go to the homecoming parade immediately after so I was not really thrilled.”
Although prepared, Meagher had no expectations, “Entering the test I did not expect it [semi-finalist score] and I didn’t have any expectation exiting the test because New York is a hard state to qualify for it in.”
Wantagh is so proud of Natasha for all of her hard work and for earning such a prestigious honor. We are excited to see what she will do next!