Senior Alexander Barrett has been named a semifinalist in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program. He will compete against 16,000 other semifinalists for some 7,400 National Merit scholarships to be offered next spring.

Alexander was among the 1.5 million juniors who entered the competition by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, commonly known as the PSAT.

To be eligible to advance to the finalist stage of the competition, Alexander must submit a detailed scholarship application with information about his academic records, participation in school and community activities, leadership abilities, honors and awards. Scholarship award winners will be selected from among the finalists, who will be announced in February.