POCATELLO — Seven East Idaho students have achieved semifinalist rankings in the 59th annual National Merit Scholarship program. They join nearly 16,000 semifinalists to take part in the national academic program.

    The local students are:

    Pocatello: Century High School; Benjamin F. Hellwig, Nicholas D. Kress and Emma C. Thackray.

    Shelley: Shelley High School; McCall A. Zweifel.

    Idaho Falls: Home school; Hannah C. Pearson; Idaho Falls High School, Clint A. Fuhriman; Skyline High School, Frederick J. Gray.

    As semifinalists, these students can continue on to the finalist phase of the competition in spring 2014. If they’re named finalists, they’ll receive one of about 8,000 National Merit Scholarships worth a total of about $35 million.

    The East Idaho semifinalist students must fulfill several requirements before they can advance to the finalist competition, according to a press release from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Each high school must submit a scholarship application that shows their academic record, participation in school and community activities, and which demonstrates the student’s leadership abilities. They must also provide information on employment as well as any honors and awards they have received.

    Further, the students must show they have an outstanding academic record, achieved throughout their high school career, a high school official is required to endorse and recommend the student for the scholarship, and the student must write an essay. Students must earn SAT scores confirming their earlier performance on the qualifying test.

    National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a nonprofit organization that operates without government assistance. It was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by about 440 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence, NMSC officials say.