Five Revere High School students achieved their placement as 2014 National Merit semifinalists based on their Preliminary SAT scores.

Seniors Carl Ahlborg, Erik Godard, Andrea Huther, Paul Kim and Charles Li all met or exceeded the National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s Ohio cutoff score of 215 points to qualify as semifinalists. Huther explained the criteria needed in order to become a semifinalist.

“In order to become a semifinalist, I had to take the PSAT my junior year, be enrolled in a high school, be a U.S citizen and plan to attend college the fall after graduation. I also had to receive a certain score on my PSAT,” Huther said.

The students took the PSAT in mid-October of last year. RHS guidance counselor Linda Weigand explained the process that led to the rankings.

“Last October, when all the current seniors were juniors, they took the PSAT (Preliminary SAT). It is used for practice, and also as a National Merit Scholarship qualifying test. Because their scores are within the top five percent in the nation, they are identified as semifinalists,” Weigand said.

The PSAT is a nation-wide standardized test, with cutoff scores according to specific states. Weigand spoke of the significance of becoming a semifinalist.

“It is a very important test [that determines] the best of the best. It’s certainly very prestigious, having National Merit students,” Weigand said.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation will now go through the process to select finalists from the existing pool of semifinalists. Godard explained the next steps towards becoming a finalist and what being chosen would entail.

“[Semifinalists now] fill out an application to become a finalist. If you are selected, you get scholarships to help pay for college,” Godard said.

The 2014 National Merit finalists should be announced in February.