This week, seniors Emaan Ahmad, Whitney Wonnacott, and Aiden Thibado were honored with the National Merit Commendation for their performance on last year’s Preliminary SAT (PSAT).
Each year, the College Board identifies top performers on the PSAT/NMSQT tests and sends them a Letter of Commendation through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Commendations recognize the recipient’s academic excellence and can open up merit scholarships at some institutions in addition to providing an advantage during the admissions process.
Commended students rank among the top 50,000 scorers across both tests, meaning Ahmad, Wonnacott, and Thibado were in the top 3% of test-takers of the class of 2026.
Principal Carrie Cope praised the students for their efforts.
The trio shared parts of their study routines and tips for prospective test-takers.
“Start with a bit of the work you love, then use that momentum to tackle the work you need more effort for,” recommended Wonnacott, who plans to major in microbiology after high school. “Looking over the previous year’s math notebook definitely would’ve helped,” she added, since many questions on the test are on topics from geometry and Algebra 1.
Thibado endorsed the built-in Desmos graphing calculator, which is available during the math portion of the test. “Skills like regressions and determining where graphs meet are very valuable,” he said, noting that learning how to input those calculations could be an easy way to score more points.
They are excited for the benefits the Commendation might bring to their academic careers.
“I think receiving a Commendation shows colleges and scholarship programs that I am committed and hardworking,” Ahmad said, expressing hope that it would help make her college applications stand out. She plans to major in biology with an eye towards a career in medicine after graduation.
Thibado was also pleased with his recognition, noting that while it probably won’t help him in his long-term goal of getting his book published, it would help him in his short-term goal of getting into a college to study writing or higher-order math.
For scores to qualify for the National Merit program, students must be juniors, but taking it as a sophomore can help orient their studies before making another attempt as a junior. Students should register for the exam in the Counseling Center.
