Recent American Heritage School graduate Jordan Bouchner proudly joins 77 other seniors named National Merit Scholars this past February during their senior year.
American Heritage School is a private, college preparatory school for ages Pre-K through 12. This year marks the 11th consecutive year the school has had the highest number of National Merit Semifinalists and Finalists. One in four students in the Class of 2021 scored in the top one percent of students in the nation.
Both American Heritage’s Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton locations rank as the number one private school in the United States. Their combined students from both campuses comprise 10 percent of all National Merit Scholars in the 2,227public and private schools in Florida.
“The recognition was nice, and the scholarship was especially comforting due to the uncertainty that we had with how the pandemic would affect our ability to pay for college,” Bouchner said.
According to Bouchner, the preparation for the PSAT (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) began during his sophomore year. If a student scores a certain percentage, American Heritage puts the student in a class to prepare for the exam.
These students practiced and reviewed throughout the summer to prepare to take the exam at the beginning of their junior year. Bouchner took the exam in October of 2018. Once scores were received, Bouchner received the award for semifinalist. He took the exam and applied for the scholarship in his senior year.
The top scorers in Florida on the PSAT exam advance from semifinalists to finalist status in the spring and are eligible to receive college scholarships.
Bouchner applied to be a finalist and was awarded a scholarship for college later that year.
“I knew going in it would be long and hard, but it worked. American Heritage does a good job encouraging students to go after these scholarships and try harder on the PSAT. They definitely have a plan for a lot of their scholarship kids to mold them into successful graduates.”
In addition to the millions of dollars in possible scholarships, these bright students now have new college opportunities and confidence in their futures.
According to the National Merit Scholarship organization, colleges such as Harvard, Stanford, University of Chicago, and Vanderbilt enroll the most talented National Merit Scholars.
President of American Heritage Schools Dr. Douglas Laurie, said, “Not only are they nationally recognized as the top one percent academically, but they are also extremely well- rounded, excelling both in and out of the classroom in fine arts, sports, and community service.”
Bouchner as well as the other 21 students, proudly accepted their scholarships and are now excelling and accomplishing greater paths at colleges around the nation.