Mercer Island High School seniors, Samuel J. Chong, Erik M. Gest, Isaac B. Grosof, Dhruv Malik, Calista A. Mayer, Kaya L. McRuer, Emily C. Morse and Christina L. Williamson have been named semifinalists in the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

These high school seniors have an opportunity to compete for some 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million, which will be offered next spring.

About 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2013 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state.

To become a finalist, the semifinalist and their high school must submit a detailed scholarship application in which they provide information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, and honors and awards received, references and an essay.

There are several additional Island semifinalists, who attend off-Island schools, who were not named in this initial list. They will be recognized as they are identified.