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National Merit Scholar smiling in a common area among peers

In September, Spring Lake Park High School senior Katie Fort was already in good company. That’s when she was named a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist among 326 students from Minnesota and 16,000 across the nation. This month, she advanced as a finalist and is now waiting to see if she’s selected to receive a Merit Scholarship® award.

While she waits, Katie is enjoying senior year. It’s the culmination of her K-12 journey in Spring Lake Park Schools, a journey that began at Northpoint Elementary, took her through Lighthouse and is coming to conclusion at the high school.

Katie is passionate about politics and really likes computer science. She says her future will be focused on “doing as much as I can to help people.”

Her favorite class this spring is AP Government.

“Everyone is fantastic, and we have a lot of impromptu discussions about real issues,” she says. “We have an incredible social studies department.”

Katie has gone deep into AP courses – taking five courses and five tests in her junior year – and is currently doing several courses that are College in the Schools. She’s maximizing college credits.   

The path to this point

Katie was among approximately 1.6 million high school students to enter The National Merit Scholarship Program last year. The process begins with taking the preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. (She also scored a 36 on the ACT.)

Of the 1.6 million entrants, some 50,000 with the highest scores qualify for recognition. In early September, about 16,000 students become semifinalists. In February, some 15,000 advance to Finalist standing. Throughout the spring, approximately 7,600 Finalists are selected to receive a Merit Scholarship® financial award.

The timing works for Katie. She’s still deciding about her plans for next year after applying to more than a half dozen colleges and universities. Being a National Merit Scholarship finalist opens up all kinds of opportunities for scholarship money at a variety of post-secondary institutions, including full tuition at many universities. This is all giving Katie a lot to consider.

Favorite things

When asked what her favorite things are about Spring Lake Park High School, two very different things come to mind immediately for Katie. The first, is iPads.

“I know a lot of people who don’t have phones or other electronic devices. The fact that we all have iPads opens up technology to a whole range of people at different socioeconomic statuses,” says Katie.

She uses her iPad for speech and debate in addition to her other coursework.

“It’s a lot easier to work on an iPad than a phone. I couldn’t do Google docs on my phone. The iPad is a separate device from a phone – you know you’re doing work on it,” she says. 

As a tech TA at the high school, Katie has seen behind the scenes. She appreciates how the devices are distributed and the systems in place to make sure people are using them appropriately. 

The second favorite thing is much more personal.

“Our school seems to be a lot more community focused than a lot of other schools I hear about. We have a more community feel,” says Katie. “The teachers and the deans really care and pay attention to the students.”