Nine area students eligible for scholarship program

Staff report

evanston, ill.

Nine Mahoning and Shenango Valley students are among 16,000 semifinalists in the 57th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

The Mahoning Valley students are Alexander White of Austintown; Vineet Rai of Canfield; Michael J. Coates of Warren; Victoria R. McNees, Matthew J. Smylie and Nathaniel G. Sutton, all of Howland; and Hannah S. Gerdes and Shannon S. Lytle, both of Ursuline.

In Pennsylvania, Jeremy M. Trott of Neshannock High School is a semifinalist.

These academically talented high-school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $34 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 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

Additionally, Maria Fazal and Emily Rast of South Range High School, Claudia Gage and James Dixon of Poland Seminary High School and Rachel Hardin of Howland High School all have been named Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship program.

A letter of commendation from the students’ schools and the corporation that conducts the program will be presented to the school principals.

About 34,000 students across the country are being recognized for their academic promise.

Although they won’t continue in the 2012 competition for the National Merit Scholarships, commended students placed among the top 5 percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2012 competition by taking the 2010 preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.