Feb 23, 2009 -- Four students at The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy /Yeshiva University High School for Boys (YUHSB) were named finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program after performing extremely well on their Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Tests (PSAT/NMSQT). Three of the academically talented seniors are New Jersey natives Yosef Kornbluth and Moshe Shulman of Teaneck and Eli Putterman, of Bergenfield. “These are some of the most gifted students to ever come through the school,” said Dr. Edward Berliner, professor of physics at YU, who teaches calculus and AP physics at YUHSB and directs the new Honors College for gifted students. “They all worked extraordinarily hard and I was extremely fortunate to have had all four as my students.” The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. Awards are given annually to students with the highest PSAT/ NMSQT selection index scores (critical reading, mathematics, and writing skills scores) qualifying them for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Of the approximately 1.5 million entrants from over 21,000 high schools, about 15,000 or less than 1 percent advance to finalists standing. To become a finalist, students must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed by their principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the students’ earlier performance on the qualifying test. The finalists continue in the running for the opportunity to compete for some 8,200 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $35 million, which will be offered next spring. “I was very excited when I found out I was named a finalist,” said Shulman, who aspires to join the YU honors program and pursue a degree in math or science. “It is truly a great honor to receive this award.”