Nine VHHS students named National Merit Semifinalists

Nine Vestavia Hills High School students were selected as 2016 semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation on Sept. 9.

Around 1.5 million high school juniors entered this year’s competition by taking the 2014 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. As semifinalists, the nine VHHS students were among the highest-scoring students in the state.

“We would like to congratulate our National Merit Semifinalists for their high academic standards,” said VHHS principal Tyler Burgess. “We also want to thank our teachers who help them with the study process to get to this point. These students and teachers have represented Vestavia Hills High School as a place of academic excellence.”

The semifinalists are Hannah Bae, Henry Barrett, Andrea Burris, Sarah Carnahan, Natalie Conboy, Will Mathews, Patrick Mills, Sarah Anne Pfitzer and Erica Wei.

Finalists are chosen following an application process examining the students’ academic performance, test scores and endorsements from high school officials. They will be announced in early 2016. Around 7,400 scholarships totaling to $32 million will be awarded this spring.

“The National Merit Program provides students with unprecedented college opportunities,” said VHHS college counselor Oliver Aaron. “These semifinalists will have numerous academic and scholarship opportunities to consider.”