By Mahlyk Davis

Reporter

To become a Commended Scholar, students must place in the top three percentile on the PSAT test taken during junior year. This year at South there are four Commended Scholars, and although four may not seem like many, it is more than the school is used to having.

The honor can be used to award corporate and business scholarships as well, as collegiate scholarships. Counselor Barb Legate explained how the status of Commended Scholar will help these students down the line.

“It is huge when applying for highly prestigious colleges and universities. Being able to call yourself a Commended Scholar is something that only three percent of the people who take the PSAT can say, let alone those who don’t,” Legate said.

Of the four Commended Scholars in the building this year, two were boys and two were girls. The names of the students are Patrick Bever-Chritto, Ashley Brennan, Kirsten Pryde and Caelan Saunders.

Interested in going to either Truman State or Webster University, Bever-Chritton says that he is excited to see how he stacks up compared to not only his classmates, but also nationally on the SAT in the future.

“I’ve taken the test multiple times, and I feel accomplished to have placed in the top three percentile,” Bever-Chritton said.

Going into the PSAT, many students are nervous and may feel overwhelmed. In order to prevent this, it is essential to do many practice tests. These practices help give the student an opportunity to test the waters of the test before having to worry about their score. Saunders explained how he prepared for the test.

“At first I didn’t worry about it until the week of the test. I bought a book and used the test prep materials the counselors gave us. I also, of course, ate a healthy breakfast and got a good night’s rest,” Saunders said.

This group of seniors is one not to be overlooked; having four Commended Scholars is a huge deal. Patrick Bever-Chritton shared his take on his class.

“I think that having four commended scholars at South this year is a reflection of our class’ drive to work hard,” Bever-Chritton said.

Saunders explained how he believes his excellent score on the test will help him down the line and some things he looks forward to going into the SAT test.

“I believe the PSAT was a good way to better prepare for all of my other standardized tests. I’ve already taken the ACT and the SAT and I believe the PSAT helped me get a better score because I was aware of what I was getting into going into the tests,” Saunders said.