Ten high school seniors who attend Frederick County public schools achieved semifinalist status in the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program.

They are Isabelle Berger from Frederick High, Emily Butcher from Linganore High, Kenneth Hall and Alexander Ruth from Walkersville High, Jiaqi Jiang, Cody Smith and Ellen Wang from Urbana High, Chase Manny from Oakdale High and Evan Numbers and Kevin Tam from Middletown High.

Nationwide, approximately 16,000 high school seniors were named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists for 2013. More than 1.5 million juniors entered the 2013 National Merit program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which serves as the initial screening of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

Semifinalists may advance to finalist standing in the competition by meeting high academic standards and other requirements to be considered for a National Merit Scholarship. Finalists continue in the competition for National Merit $2,500 scholarships in addition to corporate-sponsored and college-sponsored merit scholarships. Winners are chosen on the basis of the candidates’ academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, potential for success in rigorous college studies and other criteria.