Most students spend a lot of effort avoiding tests. Most students are not Cambridge High School senior Madison Peters.
Peters recently was named a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist by earning a qualifying score on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.
Peters’ test results make her one of approximately 16,000 students nationwide recognized as a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist by the officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®) in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. More than 1.3 million students in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.
The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors. Peters is one of 582 semifinalists from 175 schools in Ohio.
She is the only semifinalist from Guernsey County and is one of the few Semifinalists from this portion of the state.
As a Semifinalist, Peters will have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfil several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.
To become a Finalist, Peters and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.
A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.
Peters will have no problem confirming her test scores. In fact, the test scores and the potential scholarship money attached to them have driven Peters.
“I knew about scholarship, which is why I took the PSAT a second time,” Peters explained. “I took it once and then I saw the selection index and wanted to get that scholarship score.”
Peters’ score went from a 1250 to a 1470. She missed only one question on the math portion of the PSAT and earned a perfect score on the English portion.
“The day before PSAT my junior year, I took the day off school and studied really hard,” Peters confessed. “It paid off. I got a 1470.”
Peters also took the ACT four times earning a 32 composite score and a 34 super score. She also took the SAT and scored 1470. She is taking the SAT again to try to improve her score with the goal of 1530 which would earn her a presidential scholarship to one of the colleges she is interested in attending.
“I learned from my teacher Dr. Ann Sherry, that if you get a 34 ACT and you’re ranked in top 10 in your class, you can get up to $9,000 annually in scholarships,” Peters said. “I aways wanted to get into these prestigious colleges and get these scholarships to ensure I have a successful future.”
When asked what colleges she is considering, Peters asks if she should share the realistic or unrealistic lists. Even though it is becoming pretty clear there are very few colleges on the unrealistic list.
Belmont University in Tennessee tops her realistic list because of the recognized book publishing program it offers. It is on Peters’ realistic list because it has a 95 percent acceptance rate.
“I have always been interested in books,” Peters said. “Publishing and editing specifically have always interested me. Belmont has a really good publishing program with internships with established publishers in the country.
“They also have a really good pre-law program which is something I want to double major in,” Peters continued.
Topping her “unrealistic list” is Yale, the stately Ivy League University with a 6.6 percent acceptance rate.
“Yale has a really good English program,” Peters said. “I have always been fascinated with Yale because its architecture is beautiful. They also lot of different extracurricular activities that appeal to me.”
Many colleges recently stopped using test scores as an admission qualifier, but conventional knowledge indicates that the Ivy League schools are making test scores mandatory again. According to Peters, her ACT super score of 34 would meet admission requirements at Yale, making acceptance a little more realistic.
“I guess that would increase my chances,” Peters admitted.
At Cambridge, Peters is active in the Student Council, National Honor Society, Ohio Model United Nations, Key Club, French Club, Choir and Student Ambassadors. She is also active in the Green Acres 4-H Club. She shows rabbits at the Guernsey County Fair and has twice won the Showman of Showman title.
She is involved at Cambridge Performing Arts Center (CPAC) where she performed in several plays including Mean Girls, The Little Mermaid, and Frozen.
She is the daughter of Cecil and Rachael Peters and has a brother, Jacob, who is a freshman.
She credits Dr. Sherry for encouraging her to take the scholarship bearing tests and sharing those opportunities with students. She also thanked Mrs. Novick, her OMUN teacher, for her help and support.
“Madison is an exceptional student,” Sherry said. “Not only does she love learning, but she brings others into the conversation. She asks questions that help everyone understand. She invites other students in, so that everyone grows.”
According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, Scholarship applications are due Oct. 9 with all test scores due by Dec. 31 to be considered for National Merit Scholarships and Jan. 31 to be considered for Finalist status. Finalists will be notified in February and corporate and college scholarships will be awarded throughout the spring.