Sterlington senior named National Merit Semifinalist

Posted Date: 09/24/2024

Sterlington High School student Ben Forbes is among the 1 percent of seniors in the country to be named a National Merit Semifinalist, as announced by the corporation earlier this month.

Forbes entered the nationwide competition last October when he took the Preliminary ACT as a junior. In April, NMSC identified the 50,000 highest scorers.

“Whenever I took it (the PSAT), I was very focused on getting it,” Forbes said. “I was waiting for the announcement.”

Forbes knew that becoming a National Merit Semifinalist would more than likely lead to becoming a finalist, which in turn meant he could go to the college of his choice out. He plans on majoring in engineering at either Texas A&M or the University of Texas at Dallas.

“At those schools, if I didn’t get this award, I wouldn’t be able to go to them,” Forbes said. “UT-Dallas gives me a full ride because of this, and Texas A&M will give me full tuition because of this.”

The next step for a semifinalist to become a finalist is to complete the required application and include their SAT or ACT score, an essay and a letter of recommendation by a high school official.

Forbes has a 4.0 and scored a 36 on the ACT with a perfect score in English and Reading. However, he feels his strongest subject is math.

His ultimate goal is becoming a quantitative analyst on Wall Street.

‘It’s not engineering. It’s finance, but I think a lot of engineers go into that,” Forbes said.

Becoming a National Merit Semifinalist is one goal Forbes can check off his list. His other goal before graduation is to qualify for the State Tournament in tennis. In addition to being a part of the tennis team, Forbes is also in Key Club and on the E-Sports Team at Sterlington High School.