National Merit Scholarship semifinalists

Nearly 200 high school seniors across Long Island were named semifinalists Sept. 12 in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program.

They are among about 16,000 high school seniors nationwide to achieve this distinction -- less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors.

The national semifinalists represent almost one-third of the 50,000 highest scorers on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). That test was given to about 1.5 million of the students in October 2011, when they were high school juniors.

Semifinalists now submit academic records and information about their achievements, activities and skills, along with a personal essay, to the National Merit Scholarship Corp. In February, they learn if they are among 15,000 National Merit Finalists.

National Merit Scholars are chosen from that group and awarded some 8,300 National Merit scholarships, worth more than $32 million, next spring and summer.