Northeast Cobb Students Named Merit Semifinalists

Three students from Lassiter High, two from Kell, one from Pope and one Northeast Cobb homeschooler have been named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program.

Hundreds more Cobb County high school seniors also are among the approximately 16,000 semifinalists. About 90 percent of the semifinalists will be named finalists in February and become eligible for college scholarships.

Last fall, about 1.5 million high school juniors entered the National Merit competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The semifinalists, who are the highest-scoring entrants in each state, represent less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors.

Finalists will compete for 8,300 National Merit Scholarships, together worth more than $34 million. The scholarships, from the National Merit Scholarship Corp., as well as corporations, colleges and universities, will be awarded based on students' skills, accomplishments and potential for success.

Northeast Cobb students named semifinalists:

Homeschool

Andrew Coulter

Kell High School

Shane R. de Noyelles
Louis W. Salerno

Lassiter High School

Joseph M. Black
Alyse M. Ciulla
Christian J. Einertson

Pope High School

Alexander G. Williams