12 District 99 Students Named National Merit Semifinalists

Twelve  students have been named 2012-2013 National Merit semifinalists, district officials announced Wednesday.

Seven of those students attend . Five attend .

“All of us at District 99 congratulate these students on their achievements, and we are proud of their recognition in this prestigious program,” District 99 Superintendent Dr. Mark McDonald said in a statement.

To qualify for the National Merit Scholarship program, students must rank among the top scorers in the state on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. 

Of the 1.5 million eligible students, only 16,000 students nationally have been named semifinalists, representing less than one percent of all high school seniors in the country.

Semifinalists now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million. More than 90 percent of semifinalists move on to become National Merit finalists; more than half receive a National Merit scholarship, earning a Merit Scholar title.

To become a finalist, the semifinalist and their high school must submit a detailed application with information on the student's academic record, involvement in extracurricular activities, leadership abilities and awards received. Students must also be recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT scores that confirm the earlier performance on the qualifying test.

The awards will be distributed in the spring.

District 99 National Merit Semifinalists

North High School

Alexander Buckley

Benjamin Eaton

Erin Elgass

Conner Fear

Reid Melton

Mantas Naris

Alana Osterling

South High School 

Connor Bailey

Emma Chaplin

Marjorie Fera

Ammar Kalimullah

Samarth Malhotra

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