Post updated at 11:23 a.m. Friday, Sept. 15:
Eight students from three Lawrence high schools have achieved National Merit semifinalist status.
Free State High School seniors Steven Duan, Yejun Yun, Leonard Bass and Jacob Loos; Lawrence High School seniors Owen Ackley and Marcus Souders; and Bishop Seabury Academy seniors Hayden Slough and Xiang Zhang were the eight local students named as semifinalists.
National Merit semifinalists are selected based on scores on the Preliminary SAT.
“The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state,” according to a news release from the scholarship program.
About 95% of the semifinalists will advance to become finalists, and about half of the finalists will be selected as Merit Scholars, meaning they are eligible for one of 2,500 scholarships.
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