BOONSBORO -- Boonsboro High School senior Margaret "Meggie" Margrabe has been named a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist, making her eligible for a share of more than $35 million in scholarships.
Another Washington County Public Schools student, Christopher Bradford, of North Hagerstown High, also received that distinction.
Margaret, 17, said she was one of about 16,000 students nationwide who were recognized as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists -- an honor determined by 11th-grade pre-SAT scores. Margaret also took the preliminary exam in 10th grade.
"I aced the math in my sophomore and junior year," she said.
Margaret said her favorite subject is math, and because she was unable to do "fun math" in class, like brain teasers and cryptology, she formed a math club at Boonsboro High about one month ago that now has about 10 members.
She became interested in cryptology during her first summer with the Center for Talented Youth -- a Johns Hopkins University program for gifted students. Margaret said she chose to study cryptology there for three weeks, and became very interested in the codes.
