The National Merit Scholarship Corporation recently announced the 2015 semifinalists in the 60th year of the National Merit Scholarship Program. Avon Grove High School has two semifinalists among the approximately 16,000 students who have earned the honor: Tyler Mebane and Vikram Sundar.

Mebane plans to study aerospace engineering in college. He has been a member of the Avon Grove Academic Competition Team since ninth grade and helped to lead the team to the semifinal playoffs two years in a row. This year, he is the team captain. Tyler also runs on the Avon Grove High School cross country and track teams and has lettered in both sports.

Sundar plans to study engineering in college and is most interested in careers such as chemical engineering, physics and mathematics. Vikram plays the violin with the Avon Grove High School Orchestra and for the Delaware Youth Symphony Orchestra, where he is first violin. He was also inducted into the Tri-M Music Honor Society in tenth and eleventh grades.

The National Merit semifinalists will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth a total of about $33 million in the spring of 2015. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition.

About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half

of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.