Ashley Scarfo, a student at Cape Coral High School, was named a commended student in the 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Students who are commended are recognized for their excellent achievement but are no longer in the running to be a finalist.
According to Lori Brooks, an assistant principal of curriculum at CCHS, commended students place among the top 5 percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered this year’s competition.
There are 34,000 commended students nationwide in the 2010 program.
Students enter the competition through taking the Preliminary SAT test or the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
“We tested all of our juniors last year under a state initiative, but typically with the PSAT we ask for them to sign up for it,” she said.
Scarfo is a senior who is part of Cape Coral High School’s International Baccalaureate program, an academically rigorous two-year program for high school students.
“She was very close to the cutoff to be a finalist,” Brooks said. “This is such an honor for her.”
Semifinalists were announced in September. They will be in the running to be finalists and receive a scholarship worth $2,500, as well as other corporate sponsored scholarships.
Winners of the 2010 National Merit Scholarship will begin to be announced in April.