Two Hawaii Island students have been named semifinalists for Hawaii’s National Merit Scholarships.
Liana Singh of Hawaii Preparatory Academy and Rachel Z. Tao of Waiakea High School were selected among 16,000 semifinalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
They will compete for over 7,000 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring.
Semifinalists will be asked to submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes a written essay and information about extracurricular activities, awards and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance.
The National Merit Scholarships are funded by U.S. colleges and universities.
Last year, six Hawaii students were named as National Merit Scholarship winners, all located on Oahu.
In 2020, nearly 20 high school students in Hawaii were named as National Merit Scholarship winners, all on Oahu as well.