New York—Ori Putterman, a senior at Yeshiva University’s High School for Boys/Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy(YUHSB), has been named a winner of the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program. He is one of just 2,500 designees nationwide chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists who were judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
“Ori is a brilliant student who has made incredible contributions to YU High School for Boys, both academically and in terms of extracurricular activities,” said Dr. Seth Taylor, principal of general studies at YUHSB. “I am so glad that he chose to come here, where he could take advantage of our advanced program and classes at YU that allowed him to reach his full potential.”
Scholars are awarded $2,500 to be used at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university. They were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools: academic records, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by each finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.
This year’s competition for National Merit Scholarships began in October 2012, when approximately 1.5 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than 1% of the nation’s high school seniors, were named semifinalists on a state representational basis.
“Winning the National Merit Scholarship is a validation of all the hard work that I have invested into my high-school career,” said Putterman, a native of Bergenfield, New Jersey, who hopes to major in either economics or computer science as part of the prestigious Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program at Yeshiva College. “From allowing me to take AP calculus in my freshman year to enabling me to take all my secular classes in YU as a senior, YUHSB has definitely promoted my intellectual development. I would like to thank [Executive Director of Science Management/Clinical Professor of Physics] Dr. Edward Berliner and [Adjunct Instructor in Political Science] Dr. Maria Zaitseva of Yeshiva College for pushing me to my limits—I learned a lot about myself and the world from them.”
