11 Saline Students Are Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program

11 members of the Saline High School class of 2021 are semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship program.

Brian P. Ashton, Regina K. Duerst, Ava Sarah N. Hajratwala, Cameron M. Huber, Sangiun Kang, Kandhan S. Nadarajaj, Aubrey J. Parisi, Emma K. Rigg, Isaac H. Smith, Kyle H. Socha and Thomas J. Walsh are the 16,000 semifinalists in the 66th annual scholarship program. They are in competition for 7,600 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $30 million, that will be offered next spring.

Less than one percent of American high school seniors are represented in the list of semifinalists.

About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to become finalists and more than half the finalists will earn the scholarship and the "Merit Scholar" title.

More than 1.5 million juniors in 21,000 high schools entered the program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. To become a finalist, the student and a high school official must submit an application that includes the student's academic record, participation in community activities, leadership, employment and honors. The student must also write an essay.

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