In this week’s edition of the “National Merit Semifinalist Spotlight”, the spotlight shines on Senior Vivienne Tenev. She was recognized as one out of twelve students from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science as a National Merit Semifinalists on Sept. 13, 2017.

For those who are unaware, in order to become a National Merit Semifinalist, students must score the “magic number” on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Qualifying Test. There are several main purposes of this test. First, it is practice for the actual SAT. In addition, it is used to select students seeking National Merit Scholarships, which are awarded in the spring term of senior year. It also aids in selecting students for the National Assistance Scholarship Program for Outstanding Negro Students.

Tenev was homeschooled in Starkville before attending MSMS as a junior last year. She feels as if both her background and MSMS aided in receiving this achievement.

“I can’t credit just one place. The classes at MSMS, especially Trig and Foundations, helped prepare me for the PSAT by teaching the majority of the math that’s on the test. My ‘old school,’ which I guess would be my parents, helped me with my practicing strategy and helped become more comfortable with the type of questions that appear on the PSAT.”

To help future juniors prepare for PSAT, Tenev explains how she prepared for the PSAT and how it helped her when taking the standardized test. “Practice. At least for me, doing problems and seeing the areas I needed to work on helped more than just reading strategies,” Tenev elaborated.

Tenev believes in practicing in a way that is more beneficial to students in a small amount of time. She understands how difficult  it is to make time at MSMS with all the academic work.

“Don’t just take test after test. Understand what you do wrong and study the area that needs the most work; don’t spend your limited practice time on something you already feel comfortable with,” Tenev explained.

She expressed how it feels to be recognized by her school and others around her as a National Merit Semifinalist. “As with any achievement, it feels nice to be recognized, but it doesn’t mean the work is done. There’s still plenty after the semi-finalist step.”

Tenev also discussed how diligently one must work and gives advice to those juniors that will be taking the PSAT next year in October.

“If you want to do well, you’re most likely going to have to dedicate some time to studying. But please don’t stress too much about this test. If you don’t get semi-finalist, it’s okay. There’ll be plenty more opportunities for scholarships, and I feel the SAT or ACT are more important tests for college admissions. So if you don’t do as well as you’d hoped on the PSAT, focus on studying and improving your score in one of those.”