Eliana L. Herzog, a senior at Pelham Memorial High School, was named Wednesday one of approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program.

“These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million that will be offered next spring,” the National Merit Scholarship Corporation said in a press release.

To be considered for the award, semifinalists have to fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level—which is the step before winning the scholarship. About 95 percent become finalists, with half of those winning a National Merit Scholarship and earning the Merit Scholar title, the release said.

Herzog and the other semifinalists entered the competition by taking the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test administered by testing giant the College Board. The semifinalists represent less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors and include the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide:

• Information about the student’s academic record
• Participation in school and community activities
• Demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received

A semifinalist must write an essay and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.