Three Public High Schoolers Named Merit Semi-Finalists in Athens, Ga.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation recently announced the semifinalists in the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Three academically talented high school seniors in Athens may now compete for next spring's 8,300 National Merit Scholarships. The scholarships are worth more than $32 million.

“I commend our three semifinalists for their achievement at a national level,” said Superintendent Philip D. Lanoue. “These students excel – not only on national standardized tests – but also in their coursework, as well as in a variety of activities in which they are involved.”

The three are Erin Hollander, daughter of Edith and Barry Hollander, and  Akshay Hariani, son of Divya and Arun Hariani, both students at Cedar Shoals High School. Katie Googe, daughter of Bob and Deborah Googe, a student at Clarke Central, was also named a Semi-finalist.

All three students attended the Governor's Honors program last summer. Katie Googe was also named an AP Scholar. And Erin Hollander attended an international science fair earlier this year.

Some 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.

The pool of semifinalists represents less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors. It  includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

About 90% of the semifinalists should attain finalist standing, and more than half will win a National Merit Scholarship.