Laguna Seniors Semifinalists For National Merit Scholarship 2020

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Laguna Beach High School students Kenneth Chu and Kyle Herkins were named Semifinalists in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program.

These talented seniors will have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million next spring, Anakaren Ureno, spokesperson for the Laguna Beach Unified School District said.

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship, 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 about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

The nationwide pool of Semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.

Over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as the initial screen of program entrants.

National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists will be notified of their Finalist status in February 2020. National Merit Scholarship Program winners will be notified beginning in April.