• Oct. 18, 2019

    Senior named National Hispanic Scholar

    Sarah Besser Upper St. Clair High School senior Sarah Besser has been recognized as a National Hispanic Scholar by the College Board for scoring in the top 2.5 percent among Hispanic and Latino PSAT test takers in the region.

    Every year, the College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program recognizes about 5,000 of the 250,000 Hispanic/Latino juniors who take the test. Students take the qualifying PSAT in October of their junior year and are recognized in the fall of their senior year.

    To qualify, students must be at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino; achieve the minimum required PSAT Selection Index score during junior year; and earn a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher by the middle of their junior year.

    In addition to being a National Hispanic Scholar, Sarah was recently recognized as an AP Scholar by the College Board for earning an average score of at least 3 or higher on three or more exams. She earned Honorable Mention recognition in the 2018 Pittsburgh Regional Scholastic Writing Awards for her personal essay, “A Phone Call Never Placed.” In April 2019, she was inducted into the National Honor Society.

    The College Board’s National Hispanic Recognition Program is an academic honor that can be included on college applications. It is not a scholarship, but colleges do use this program to identify academically exceptional Hispanic/Latino students.