Three Ossining Seniors are Finalists for Merit Scholarship

Three Ossining High School seniors are finalists in the 63rd annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Marlond Criollo, Skyler Jones and Emma San Martin were chosen as semifinalists in the fall and learned this month that they are among about 15,000 finalists. They are competing for some 7,500 scholarships worth more than $32 million.

High school juniors who take the Preliminary SAT are automatically entered in to the competition. About 1.6 million students in more than 22,000 high schools across the country took the PSAT in 2016. The approximately 16,000 semifinalists were the highest scoring entrants in each state.

Roughly 90 percent of semifinalists become finalists, and about half of them will earn the Merit Scholar title. Merit Scholar designees are chosen based on their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

In order to become a finalist, students and their high schools must submit a detailed scholarship application that includes an essay and details of their academic record, employment, school and community activities, awards and demonstrated leadership abilities.

Winners will be announced in four nationwide news releases between April and July.

(Photo: National Merit Scholarship finalists Skyler Jones, Marlond Criollo and Emma San Martin.)