Malden Student Recognized by National Merit Scholarship Program

Three students from Pioneer Charter School of Science II (PCSS) have been recognized in the National Merit Scholarship Program, an annual academic competition for recognition and college undergraduate scholarships.

Nolan Moy of Saugus and Manan Bajaj of Malden both advanced as semi-finalists in the competition and Jack Blake of Saugus, was recognized as a Commended Student.

The 2018 competition has 16,000 semi-finalists, who will have an opportunity to continue to compete for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million. More than 1.5 million juniors in 22,000 high schools entered this year’s competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
“We take pride in our students' success and they continue to amaze us every day," said PCSS II Executive Director Vahit Sevinc said.
Semifinalists Nolan Moy and Manan Bajaj both hope to study Computer Science at their dream school -- MIT. Commended Student Jack Blake has his eye on Brown University where he’d like to pursue Psychology or English.

National Merit Scholarship winners of 2019 will be announced in a roll out between April and concluding in July. Scholarship recipients will join some 338,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.

About PCSS
With schools in Everett (PCSS I) and Saugus (PCSS II), Pioneer Charter School of Science offers a rigorous academic curriculum emphasizing math, science, and analytical thinking skills balanced by a strong foundation in the humanities. The school offers extended days/hours and career-oriented college preparation. Students must pass five math and five science classes in order to graduate - more than state standards, and students must complete 40 hours of community service. The school has a 195-day school calendar, extended days, after school tutoring and “voluntary” Saturday classes for students who need extra help.