E. C. Glass student Isaac Alty has qualified as a National Merit Semifinalist, and fellow classmates Calvin Chueh, James Massie and Hannah Smith have been named Commended National Merit Scholars for 2012.
Out of 1.5 million entrants, roughly 16,000 become semifinalists. By meeting high academic standards and other requirements, semifinalists have the opportunity to advance to finalists who can ultimately be chosen for Merit Scholarship awards. Approximately 8,300 finalists are awarded Merit Scholarships.
High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Approximately 50,000 entrants with the highest scores are recognized in the program. Two-thirds of the high scorers are named Commended Students, and the remaining third become Semifinalists. The Commended Students no longer compete for National Merit Scholarships but can become candidates for special scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.