Alex Smith, a senior at La Plata High School, was recently selected as one of only two Maryland recipients of the 2012 Siemens Award for Advanced Placement. He was also named a finalist in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program.

The Siemens Award for Advanced Placement is a signature program of the Siemens Foundation administered by the College Board. The program recognizes top achievers in the Advanced Placement (AP) program science and mathematics courses and provides a $2,000 college scholarship to one male and one female student in each state. Smith was notified of the award last month and La Plata received a College Board banner to hang in the school.

Earlier this fall, Smith was named a National AP Scholar by the College Board for receiving an average grade of at least 4 on all AP exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams. In 2011, he was named an AP Scholar with Distinction for earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.

As a finalist in the 2013 National Merit Program, Smith is eligible to receive a Merit Scholarship Award. There are three types of Merit Scholarships:

  • National Merit $2,500 Scholarships – each finalist competes for this single payment scholarship, which are awarded on a state representational basis. Winners are selected without consideration of family financial circumstances, college choice, or major and career plans.

  • Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards – corporate sponsors designate their awards for children of their employees or members, for residents of a community where a company has operations, or for finalists with career plans the sponsor wishes to encourage. These scholarships may either be renewable for four years of undergraduate study or one-time awards.

  • College-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards – officials of each sponsor college select winners of their awards from finalists who have been accepted for admission and have informed the NMSC by the published deadlines that the sponsor college or university is their first choice. These awards are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.

Merit Scholar finalists are selected for their high school academic performance and SAT scores, as well as for community involvement and leadership. The nationwide pool of finalists includes the highest entrants in each state.

Smith plans to major in mathematics after graduation, and has applied to several colleges and universities, including Harvard University, Princeton University, Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of