The National Merit Scholarship Program named eight Lexington County School District One students National Merit semifinalists, keeping them in the running for significant scholarship awards.

Each year, thousands of students submit test scores, teacher recommendations, community service hours and personal essays. The program selects those who show exceptional academic ability, with semifinalists representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.

Semifinalists from Lexington District One include seniors:

• Haley F. Kubilus from Gilbert High School;

• Hoda E. Abdalla, Mehul Jain, Paul T. Kim, Raymond Lin, Kevin Shah and Winni Zheng from Lexington High School; and

• Alexander M. Pendris from River Bluff High School.

Ninety percent of the 16,000 nationwide semifinalists will attain finalist standing in February 2019. About half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship at the culmination of their high school career, earning the title of Merit Scholar.

These academically gifted students are competing for approximately 7,500 scholarships worth a combined $31 million. Scholarships include National Merit Scholarships worth $2,500 each, college-sponsored Merit Scholarships that provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study, and about 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships.