Madison High's National Merit Semifinalists Named

Madison High School announced Monday that Dan Ahn, Matt Hauserman, Michael Lebwohl and Lainie Rowland have been named semifinalists in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Semifinalists are determined based on their scores on the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, meaning the seniors are among the highest scoring entrants in New Jersey and represent less than one percent of seniors in U.S. high schools, according to a news release from the school.

Every year the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announces the names of approximately 16,000 semifinalists from a nationwide pool of 1.5 million applicants for the National Merit Scholarship Program. Semifinalists 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.

In order to become a finalist, semifinalists must demonstrate outstanding academic achievement, leadership abilities, and participation in school and community activities. Semifinalists also must be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT scores that confirm their previous performance on the qualifying test.