Parkland High School students Nur M. Bookwala, Natalie J. Britton, Roy Ghosh, Sumedha Kanthamneni, Aryaman Khandelwal, Rohith Ramanujam Kumar, Habeeb A. Salau and Sara Zdancewicz have been named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.

In addition Michael J. Gappa, a homeschooled student from Breinigsville, was named a semifinalist in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship program.

Officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 63rd annual National Merit Scholarship Program Sept. 13.

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next spring.

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition.

About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and about half the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.

To become a finalist, the semifinalist and his or her high school must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.

A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

National Merit Scholarship winners of 2018 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July.