Hillsborough High School students Aman Y. Thakker and Joy Zou are among the approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
These high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,300 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.
About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship. Announcements begin in April.
High school juniors entered the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
To become a finalist, the semifinalist and their high school must provide information about academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, and honors and awards received.
A semifinalist must be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn senior-year test scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

