Newport students Merit semi-finalists

Eight Newport Beach students have been named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, joining some 16,000 high school seniors around the country in competing for 8,200 scholarships worth more than $36 million.

At Corona del Mar High School, Marisa C. Cummings, Kelsey S. Davis, Gillian L. Lau and Elizabeth L. Nguyen were named semifinalists.

Daniel J. Lee, Robert A. Puncel and Emily R. Wilson were named semifinalists at Newport Harbor High School.

James W. Chai of Sage Hill School in Newport Coast was also named as a semifinalist.

Semifinalists were culled from those who scored in the top 1% of the preliminary SAT standardized test. About 90% of the semifinalists are expected to advance to the finalist competition; half of those will win scholarships.

About 500 businesses and schools underwrite the scholarships.

— Candice Baker