Semifinalists named in national scholarship program

A total of 11 seniors from McIntosh, Sandy Creek and Starr’s Mill High schools are among the approximately 16,000 nationwide selected as semifinalists in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program.

The 2017 semifinalists are (McIntosh High) So-Ying Chang, Savannah Kawahata, Jiaxing Liu, John McCauley, Sophie Roggermeier, Samantha Schmid, and Cameron Stephens; (Sandy Creek High) Phaidra Buchanan and Krista Jackson; (Starr’s Mill High) Aubrey Bennett and Maddison Laney.

They are among the highest scorers in the state on the 2015 Preliminary SAT, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Their scores also place them in the top one percent of highest scoring U.S. high school seniors.

These students have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarship awards worth about $33 million that will be offered next spring. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to become finalists, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship.

To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier qualifying test performance. The semifinalist and a school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes the student’s essay and information about the semifinalist’s participation and leadership in school and community activities.

Merit scholarship winners of 2017 will be announced April-July.