The National Merit Scholarship Program began in 1955 as an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®)—a test which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.6 million juniors in 22,000 schools—and by meeting published program entry and participation requirements. This year, nationally, 15,000 students achieved finalist status based on results from the 2019 test.

Preston, Malavika, and Lukas have an opportunity to continue even further in the competition, which awards 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth about $32 million that will be offered later this spring. All winners of Merit Scholarship® awards, who will be known as Merit Scholars, are chosen based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments—without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference. As stated on the website, a variety of information is available for the "selectors" to evaluate each finalist including academic record, information about the school's curricula and grading system, two sets of test scores, the school official's written recommendation, information about the student's activities and leadership, and the finalist's own essay.