Fulton High School senior Josh Hinchie knows exactly how he is going to pay for college, but it's not just because he's an economics whiz. Hinchie was one of just 28 Missouri high school students to be selected as recipients of a National Merit Scholarship this year, ultimately earning him a full ride to Tulsa University.
Hinchie entered into the scholarship competitions by taking the Preliminary SAT his junior year. The 50,000 highest-scoring testers in the nation will qualify for recognition. Two-thirds of those students earned commended status and receive a letter of commendation, while the remaining 16,000 students went on to be semifinalists.
Students such as Hinchie, who met "high academic standards and all other requirements," will make it to the Finalist stage, and from that group, winners were finally selected "based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments," according to the group's website, nationalmerit.org.
"It's a really good feeling," said Hinchie. "One year ago I didn't know what was going to happen, how I was going to pay for it. With a full ride I don't have to worry about finances at all, it was a huge weight off of me."