Schools

Lemont High School Student Named National Merit Semifinalist

Senior Alexandra Albrecht is one of 16,000 students nationwide who will be considered for a National Merit Scholarship next spring.

Lemont High School senior Alexandra Albrecht has been named a 2013-2014 National Merit semifinalist, officials announced Wednesday.

Albrecht, a senior, is one of 16,000 students who are in the running for a National Merit Scholarship—representing less than 1 percent of all high school seniors in the country.

Albrecht  is a member of the National Honor Society, National English Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta Honor Society. She participates in Interact Club, Scholastic Bowl, Chess Club and the Lemont High School marching band. 

She also took part in the 2012 Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering state finals, and played flute for the Symphonic Band when it was named the top band in its class at the 2012 State of Illinois Invitational High School Concert Band Contest.

Lemont High School has had six National Merit semifinalists in the past six years. Each of the previous five students—Jessica DeArcangelis and Michael Fischer in 2008, Therese Castrogiovanni and Rita Kuseliauskas in 2010, and Kim Gannon in 2012—went on to be named finalists.

To qualify for the National Merit Scholarship program, students must rank among the top scorers in the state on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
About 1.5 million students are eligible for the honor each year, officials said.

Semifinalists now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,000 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $35 million. More than 90 percent of semifinalists move on to become National Merit finalists; more than half receive a National Merit scholarship, earning a Merit Scholar title.

To become a finalist, the semifinalist and their high school must submit a detailed application with information on the student's academic record, involvement in extracurricular activities, leadership abilities and awards received. Students must also be recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT scores that confirm the earlier performance on the qualifying test.

The awards will be distributed in the spring.

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