Valedictorian: Any student who achieves a total weighted GPA of 4.24 or higher at the end of their senior year has qualified to be a Valedictorian of his/her graduating class at Merced High School. Any Valedictorian who competes and whose speech is of a quality similar to a selected speaker, will also speak at the graduation ceremony.
Salutatorian: The senior, (who is not a Valedictorian) with the second highest GPA gives the salutatory, or welcoming, speech at commencement.

Purple Cord: Students performing voluntary community service may earn recognition for their work by keeping a record of the hours they contribute. Students earn a purple cord by accumulating 250 hours or more of service within the four years of high school. Community service must be approved before it is undertaken and the hours must be documented and verified; forms are available from the guidance technician in the counseling office. If you begin early and add hours each year, it's easy and the rewards are many. There are hundreds of things you can do and projects you can be involved in that qualify as community service hours. See your counselor for ideas.

Orange Cord: An orange cord worn at graduation represents activities and hours contributed to the LINK CREW program.

Gold Cord: A gold cord is awarded to graduates during the graduation ceremony who have maintained a 3.5 G.P.A. throughout the first seven semesters of high school. This is based on the weighted G.P.A.

White Cap & Gown: A student earns a white cap & gown to be worn during the graduation ceremony by becoming a Life Member of the California Scholarship Federation (CSF). Students must apply for CSF every semester that they qualify. Students must qualify and join for at least 4 out of their last 6 semesters (10th, 11th & 12th grades) including one as a senior. CSF also awards a gold stole for 100% membership, when a student has been eligible and joins for all 8 semesters of high school. Refer to the section entitled California Scholarship Federation on the welcome page for the Counseling Department or check with Mrs. Davis in Room 107 for details.

Scholarships: There are a large number of scholarships given out to MHS graduates each year. Over $600,000 dollars of scholarships and financial aid were given out last year and the amount increases each year. Monthly, the counseling office publishes an announcement entitled, Senior Newsletter to inform students of available scholarships and deadlines. Please refer to the MHS Home Page for all scholarship and testing information.