About 800 scholarships worth over $2.5 million is to be awarded next spring.

Hawai'i's semifinalists in the 2008 National Achievement Program include:

'Iolani School

Krista L. Speroni

Moanalua High School

Joshua S. Tingman

Punahou School

Richard Galluzzi

The National Achievement Program — conducted by National Merit Scholarship Corporation — is a privately financed academic competition that operates without government assistance. It was initiated in 1964 to recognize promising black students throughout the nation and to provide scholarships to a substantial number of the most outstanding participants.

To date, more than 27,800 young men and women have received Achievement Scholarship awards worth more than $88 million.

About 1,300 semifinalists are expected to fulfill additional requirements and advance to the finalist level in the 2008 program. Scholars will be selected from the finalist group on the basis of their abilities, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

More than 140,000 high school juniors from all parts of the United States requested consideration in the 2008 National Achievement Program when they took the 2006 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Semifinalists were designated within geographic regions and are the highest-scoring program entrants in the states that make up each region.

To advance to the finalist level in the competition, Semifinalists must present a record of high academic performance throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the PSAT/NMSQT performance. Also, the semifinalist and a school official must complete a scholarship application in which they provide information about the student's participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, and educational goals.