JACKSON, MI - About 16,000 high school seniors across the United States have been selected as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, and four of them come from the Jackson area.
Students from Grass Lake High School, Hillsdale Academy and Jackson High School made the cut. The 7,500 winners for the scholarships, totaling more than $31 million, will be announced in spring 2019.
More than 1.6 million students from 22,000 high schools entered, by taking the 2017 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
Here's the list of semifinalists from the Jackson area:
- Sean P. Hickey, Grass Lake High School
- Chloe M. Tritchka-Stuchell, Hillsdale Academy
- Kathryn E. Van Havel, Hillsdale Academy
- Elienai L. Ouoba, Jackson High School
Scholarship winners are selected based on "skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies," according to scholarship administrators.
Besides taking a test, applicants had to have a strong academic record, a recommendation from a school official, an essay and high SAT scores.
The scholarship organization started in 1955 and has honored 338,000 students since its inception.
