Six Manhasset High School students have been named semifinalists in the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Seniors Matthew Alonso, Nicole Chee, Brooke DiGia, Alyssa Sanders, Alexander Schwartz and Jenna Tisher were among the 16,000 students to reach the semifinal round, which represents less than 1 percent of high school students in the United States.
The National Merit Scholarship Program awards approximately $32 million in student endowments each year.
Approximately 1.5 million high school juniors from more than 22,000 high schools in the United States enter the program each year by taking the 2014 Preliminary SAT exam.
Semifinalists are informed of their inclusion in the program in the fall of their senior year.
Finalists are announced the following March, with the 7,600 winners of $25,000 individual scholarships being notified in June.
The number of students selected for the program per state is based on the percentage of graduating seniors from that state within the national graduating class.
In addition to their test scores, students submit their academic transcripts as well as notification of where they intend to go to college and a personal essay.
