5 Mira Costa Students Named National Merit Semifinalists

By Nicole Mooradian

Five Mira Costa High School seniors have been named 2013 National Merit Semifinalists, according to the nonprofit National Merit Scholarship Corporation which made the announcement Wednesday in a news release.

Students Stephanie L. Caridad, Milo S. Davis, Ryan A. Gulland, Matthew Wenner and Austin T. Yamada are among close to 16,000 semifinalists nationally in the 59th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. 

The students will compete for some 8,300 scholarships worth more than a total of $32 million. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to make it to the finals; a little more than half of the finalists will win a scholarship.

The students will be judged by their scores on standardized tests, their grades, an essay and extracurricular activities.

Semifinalists were determined by their scores on the 2012 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which they took as 11th graders. Only those who scored in the top 1 percent of their state were named semifinalists.

About 1.5 million high school juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT last year.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation was established in 1955 to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program, according to a news release from the nonprofit organization. The scholarships are provided by the organization and about 440 businesses and educational institutions.

—City News Service contributed to this report.