Pitman High seniors Adrian Leven and Simon Staley were selected as semifinalists in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship competition. Should either be selected as a finalist they would be in competition for 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $34 million.

Leven holds a 4.46 GPA and plans to major in computer science once in college. He has applied to Stanford, Cal Tech, USC and Cal Berkeley. Staley has a 4.7 GPA and he plans to major in business or economics at either a University of California campus or one of the Claremont Colleges. Leven and Staley are the only students in Turlock and surrounding areas who qualified as semifinalists.

Semifinalists in the scholarship program must fulfill several requirements including written essays and minimum SAT scores to advance to the finalist level of the competition. Finalists must also have an outstanding academic record and be recommended by their high school principal. Leven and Staley will be notified in February if they advance.

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2012. Every finalist will compete for one of the 2,500 National Merit $2,500 scholarships that will be awarded on a state by state basis. An additional 1,000 corporate-sponsored scholarships will be provided by 240 organizations. Additionally, about 200 colleges and universities will finance some 4,800 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.

To contact Jonathan McCorkell, e-mail jmccorkell@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2015.