Fourteen Uni seniors have been named Commended Students in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program, representing 24.6 percent of their 57-member class. In early September, 20 seniors were named National Merit Semifinalists, or 35 percent of the class. In all, 59.6 percent of the Class of 2009 earned National Merit honors.

Twenty Uni seniors have been named semifinalists in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program. That total represents 35 percent of the 57-member senior class. Uni has the seventh largest number of semifinalists in the state.

Fourteen Uni seniors have been named National Merit Finalists, according to college counselor Lisa Micele. Only 15,000 seniors nationwide earned the distinction out of some 1.4 million students who took the PSAT in the fall of 2006. As finalists, the students are eligible for some 8,200 Merit Scholarship awards, worth about $36 million.

Nineteen members of the Class of 2008 have been named National Merit Commended Students. Earlier this year, 15 of their classmates were chosen as National Merit Semifinalists. In all, 34 seniors earned either commended or semifinalist status this year, representing about 53 percent of the 64-member senior class.

Senior Frankie McFarland is one of just 1,600 students to be named a semifinalist in the National Achievement Scholarship Program, an academic competition run by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. McFarland now has the opportunity to become one of 1,300 finalists.

Only 16,000 seniors nationwide out of an original pool of 1.4 million have gone on to become National Merit Semifinalists. Today the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced that 15 members of Uni's Class of 2008 were honored with this distinguished award. [UPDATED with figures from other Illinois schools.]