Lawrence High School senior Jasmine Sims is among 1,600 semifinalists in the 46th annual National Achievement Scholarship Program, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced Wednesday.

The privately financed academic competition was initiated in 1964 to recognize academically promising black students in the nation and to provide scholarships.

The semifinalists will be vying for about 800 scholarship awards, worth a total of $2.6 million. The winners will be selected on the basis of their abilities, accomplishments and potential for success in college.

More than 160,000 students as juniors were originally considered for the awards when they took the 2008 Preliminary SAT or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. In addition to Sims, five other Kansas high school seniors are semifinalists.