Area high schools produced 10 National Merit semifinalists this year, four fewer than in 1998.
Free State High senior John Sheu has enough course credit at Kansas University to qualify as a college junior.
He's stormed through every academic challenge put before him.
Perhaps, then, it comes as no surprise he received a perfect score on the math section of an exam that led to his selection today as a semifinalist in the 45th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
About 16,000 high school seniors -- 179 in Kansas -- were designated semifinalists based on a test taken in their junior year. Nearly 1.2 million students at 20,000 high schools completed the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
"I think I had a pretty good idea just from my PSAT score," said Sheu, who plans to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study computer science and business administration.
This year's semifinalist honor roll:
- Free State High -- Kelcie Fincham, Michael Hazel, Jacob Imber and Sheu.
- Lawrence High -- Evan Grosshans, William Kinnersley and Christopher Reinhard.
- Baldwin High -- Kendra Knight.
- Oskaloosa High -- Andrew Dailey.
- Ottawa High -- Steven Ketchum.
In 1998, 14 students from area high schools, including 10 from Lawrence, were National Merit semifinalists.
Finalists will be announced nationwide in April and May. Typically, 90 percent of semifinalists become finalists.
LHS counselor Linda Allen predicted all three Lawrence High semifinalists would take the next step in the competition. Status as a National Merit finalist opens doors to scholarships that help pay college tuition.
"They need to be rewarded for their efforts," Allen said.
The 16,000 semifinalists will compete next spring for 7,600 scholarships worth approximately $28 million from National Merit, corporations or universities.
"These are talented folks," said Sherry Slade, a Free State High counselor. "Hopefully, all our students will be finalists. It's fun to work with them."
-- Tim Carpenter's phone message number is 832-7155. His e-mail address is tcarpenter@ljworld.com.
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