Ten Mercer Island High School seniors have been named National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists.

They are Larissa D. Bitners, Matthew D. Chansky, Charles B. Cuono, Nikita C. Marcou, Rachel N. Motz, Elaine X. Shen, Christopher Shin, Joshua B. Shin, Adam N. Tucker and Bryan Y. Zhao.

“Congratulations to these students, their teachers and to their families,” said Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano in a press release from the Mercer Island School District. “It is a tremendous achievement to be selected as a National Merit semifinalist, and we are extremely proud of them.”

About 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2015 PSAT. The 16,000 semifinalists represent less than 1 percent of high school seniors nationally.

The semifinalists qualify to compete for about 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth $35 million. To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, semifinalists have to fulfill requirements to advance to finalist standing.

Each semifinalist submits a detailed scholarship application, which includes essays and information about extracurricular achievements, awards and leadership positions. Semifinalists also have to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a school official and earn SAT scores that confirm their qualifying test performance.