URBANA — Twenty Uni seniors have been named semifinalists in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program. That total, announced today, represents 35 percent of the 57-member senior class.

This year's semifinalists are:

• Greg Atherton
• Daniel Borup
• Vaishnavi Giridaran
• Karen Han
• Jason He
• Rachel Hyman
• Karolina Kalbarczyk
• Jeremy Kemball
• Deren Kudeki
• Alan Liang
• Andrew Lovdahl
• Allan Luo
• Natsuki Nakamura
• Nishant Nookala
• Carl Pearson
• Kareem Sayegh
• Joy Shapley
• Lor Sligar
• Adam Tiouririne
• Richard Wang

This is the first time Uni has had at least 20 semifinalists since the fall of 2005, when the Class of 2006 had 25, about 42 percent of the 60-member class. The Classes of 2007 and 2008 each had 15 semifinalists.

Illinois has 734 semifinalists from 173 schools. Uni has the seventh largest number of semifinalists.

Number of Semifinalists, Top 10 Schools in Illinois

1. Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 51 (enrollment: 849 in grades 10-12) *
2. Winnetka New Trier, 32 (enrollment: 4,176 in grades 9-12)
3. Lincolnshire Stevenson, 25 (enrollment: 4,545 in grades 9-12)
4. Naperville Central, 23 (enrollment: 3,107 in grades 9-12)
5. (tie) Oak Park and River Forest, 22 (enrollment: 3,172 in grades 9-12)
5. (tie) Hinsdale Central, 22 (enrollment: 2,635 in grades 9-12)
7. UNI HIGH, 20 (enrollment: 245 in grades 9-12)
8. (tie) Chicago University High, 17 (enrollment: 497 in grades 9-12)
8. (tie) Chicago Whitney Young Magnet, 17 (enrollment: 1,958 in grades 9-12)
8. (tie) Palatine Fremd, 17 (enrollment: 2,896 in grades 9-12)

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

In terms of the percentage of semifinalists with respect to the total enrollment of students at a school, Uni consistently holds the top position.

Uni's 20 semifinalists represent 8.2 percent of the school's enrollment in grades 9-12. IMSA comes in second at 6.1 percent, followed by U-High Chicago at 3.4 percent. No other Illinois school reaches 2 percent.

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

According to Lisa Micele, Uni's director of college counseling, this year's Selection Index Qualifying Score for Illinois is 214 out of a possible 240. This is an increase from last year's index of 213.

The SIQS is the minimum score with which a student can qualify for semifinalist. The total score on the PSAT/NMSQT, which is taken during the fall of junior year, is a combination of the Verbal, Math, and Writing subscores.

The state with the lowest index is Mississippi, at 201. The District of Columbia leads the nation at 221.

About 15,000 of the semifinalists will become finalists in February. Finalists will be eligible for about 8,200 National Merit Scholarship awards, worth more than $30 million.

More than 1.5 million students around the world took the PSAT to be entered into the program. This year's junior class will officially take the test on October 15, with the sophomores participating in a trial run.