FIFTEEN UNI SENIORS, about 23 percent of the 64-member Class of 2008, have been announced as National Merit Semifinalists today. This is one of the top academic honors any high school senior can receive.

Each year approximately 16,000 students are named National Merit Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

The state of Illinois has 777 semifinalists representing 181 high schools.

Uni’s semifinalists are:

• Ethan Berl
• Emily Chu
• Shara Esbenshade
• Michelle Gao
• Julian Hartman
• Angela Jin
• Joseph Leigh
• Sarah Pfander
• Jennifer Roloff
• Austin Rundus
• Kumars Salehi
• Jacob Seeley
• Ruthie Welch
• Alex Zhai
• Lucy Zhang

About 15,000 of the semifinalists will become finalists in February. Finalists will be eligible for about 8,200 National Merit Scholarship awards, worth a total of $33 million.

Last year, 15 members of the Class of 2007 were named semifinalists. Fourteen went on to become National Merit Finalists.

This year Uni tied with Hinsdale Central for the 12th-largest number of semifinalists, while the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy had the most.

NUMBER OF SEMIFINALISTS, TOP 12 SCHOOLS IN ILLINOIS

1. IMSA, 51 (enrollment: 866 in grades 10-12) *
2. Winnetka New Trier, 40 (enrollment: 4,201 in grades 9-12)
3. Naperville North, 31 (enrollment: 3,115 in grades 9-12)
4. Lincolnshire Stevenson, 27 (enrollment: 4,548 in grades 9-12)
5. Lyons Township, 22 (enrollment: 3,841 in grades 9-12)
6. Oak Park and River Forest, 21 (enrollment: 3,245 in grades 9-12)
7. Chicago Lincoln Park, 20 (enrollment: 2,223 in grades 9-12)
8. Chicago University High, 17 (enrollment: 491 in grades 9-12)
9. Evanston Township, 16 (enrollment: 3,130 in grades 9-12)
10. Naperville Central, 16 (enrollment: 3,162 in grades 9-12)
11. Naperville Neuqua Valley, 16 (enrollment: 4,195 in grades 9-12)
12. (tie) Hinsdale Central, 15 (enrollment: 2,662 in grades 9-12)
12. (tie) UNI HIGH, 15 (enrollment: 247 in grades 9-12)

* Enrollment figures are according to the Illinois High School Association.

NUMBER OF SEMIFINALISTS, TOP 12 SCHOOLS IN ILLINOIS, SORTED BY PERCENTAGE
Percentage based on total semifinalists versus total enrollment. Rankings are determined with higher level of accuracy than the percentage displayed.

1. UNI HIGH – 6.1 percent
2. IMSA – 5.9 percent
3. Chicago University High – 3.5 percent
4. Winnetka New Trier – 1.0 percent
5. Chicago Lincoln Park – 0.9 percent
6. Lincolnshire Stevenson – 0.6 percent
7. Naperville North – 0.6 percent
8. Hinsdale Central – 0.6 percent
9. Lyons Township – 0.6 percent
10. Oak Park and River Forest – 0.6 percent
11. Evanston Township – 0.5 percent
12. Naperville Central – 0.5 percent
13. Naperville Neuqua Valley – 0.4 percent

* Enrollment figures are according to the Illinois High School Association.

Students are eligible for National Merit honors by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, commonly known as the PSAT. Yearly about 1.4 million students take the PSAT/NMSQT.

The Selection Index Qualifying score this year in the state of Illinois was 213 out of a total possible score of 240. Illinois’ selection index this year decreased 3 points from last year’s index of 216.

The NMS Corporation has not yet announced this year's National Merit Commended Students. Last year 21 Uni seniors made the commended list.