Matthew Bries and Nicolas Cole, students at Francis Howell North (FHN) High school, have been chosen to enter the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Bries and Cole took the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) and qualified to enter the scholarship program. With a Selection Index score of 200 or above, Bries and Cole are among the 50,000 highest-scoring participants of some 1.5 million program entrants. Because Bries and Cole have shown outstanding academic potential, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation has invited them to be referred to two colleges and universities in the United States in which they are especially interested. There is no charge for this College Plan Reporting Service (CPRS), which is offered solely to encourage college officials to communicate directly with these scholastically able students about educational opportunities that may be available to them.

Of the 50,000 students being offered the CPRS service, about 16,000 will be named National Merit Semi-Finalists, representing the top scorers in each state, and approximately 34,000 other high scorers will be commended for their performance on the PSAT/NMSQT. Semifinalists and Commended Students in the 2013 program will learn of their standing in September. Semifinalists will be the only students who will have an opportunity to continue in the competition for about 8,300 National Merit Scholarships to be offered in 2013.

The National Merit^® Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT^®)–a test which serves as an initial screen of more than 1.5 million entrants each year–and by meeting published program entry/participation requirements.