Four area students — three from Kalispell and one from Polson — have been named semifinalists in the 58th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Ellie Lapp of Flathead High School, Dani Crandell and Kristen Owens of Glacier High School and Thomas Warner of Polson High School are among 55 semifinalists in Montana and 16,000 nationwide.

Semifinalists now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for 8,300 National Merit Scholarships totaling more than $32 million. Scholarships are awarded to students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in college.

About 1.5 million juniors entered the program by taking the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

To become semifinalists, students were required to write an essay, submit a recommendation by a high school official, have an outstanding academic record and earn SAT scores confirming the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

The nationwide pool of semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

To advance to finalist status, semifinalists and their high schools must submit scholarship applications that provide information about the students’ academic record, awards and honors, participation in school and community activities and demonstrated leadership abilities.

About 90 percent of semifinalists are expected to be notified as finalists in February. All Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of finalists. Scholarship winners will be announced beginning in April and concluding in July.