The following 14 Santa Barbara County high school seniors are among some 16,000 semifinalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) recently announced the names of the academically talented students who now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,250 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 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 of the competition. About 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and about half the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

NMSC is a not-for-profit organization established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. It operates without government assistance.

Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by about 340 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.

Carpinteria

Cate School
Emily M. Allison
Cathleen L. Chow
Oliver Dworsky
Jengus C. Ercil
Yifeng Ke
Oscar S. Livingston
Zhiyuan Zhang

Goleta

Dos Puelos High School
Keaton S. Cross
Ethan Y. Foong
William Shen

Santa Barbara

Laguna Blanca School
Katherine J. Ball
Caden A. Weaver

Santa Barbara High School
Hattie M Ugoretz

Santa Maria

Ernest Righetti High School
Benjamin Dohoon Choi

The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The program does not measure the quality or eff ectiveness of education within a school, system, or state. For more about the competition, visit www.nationalmerit.org.