Four Beaufort County School District students have been announced as finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program.

[caption id="attachment_37732" align="alignright" width="126"]<a href="https://staging.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/IMG_1466-e1538657296433.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-37732" src="https://staging.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/IMG_1466-e1538657296433.jpg" alt="" width="126" height="134"></a> Alan Wiser[/caption]

Named as semifinalists were Pierce Daly (Hilton Head Island High); Meaghan Lyons (Hilton Head Island High); Faith Shupard (May River High); and Alan Wiser (Beaufort High).<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>They will compete with other national semifinalists for 7,500 college scholarships worth more than $31 million.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

“We’re very proud of these four wonderful students,” said Interim Superintendent Herb Berg.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp; </span>“They are excellent representatives of their schools and the entire district, and we’re confident they will perform well in the next stages of the national competition.”

About 1.6 million high school juniors from more than 22,000 American high schools entered the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp; </span>About 16,000 semifinalists were announced Tuesday.

To become a finalist in the next stage of the national competition, each semifinalist and his or her high school must now submit a detailed application that provides information about the student’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, leadership abilities, honors and awards.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp; </span>In addition, each semifinalist must be endorsed and recommended by an official from their high school, write an essay and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier score on the qualifying test.

The National Merit Scholarship Corp. is a nonprofit established in 1955, and its scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and more than 400 businesses and higher education institutions.