Six District 219 students were announced to be among the 2017 National Merit Scholar Finalists, including Niles West senior Osama Esmail.

The National Merit Scholar program is exclusive, and it recognizes the brightest of the brightest. The students chosen for this prestigious award are among the best students in the state. At Niles West, Esmail was the only semi-finalist. He he now has the chance to continue competing for National Merit Scholarships.

“I am very excited and happy that I am a semi-finalist for the National Merit Scholar. It shows my hard work and its cool to see what I have accomplished,” Esmail said. “I was pretty surprised not more people were finalists, but after all, it is a hard award to get recognized for.”

In order to receive this award, students must take the PSAT test and get a score of at least 201 to 222 to qualify as a semifinalist. The winners are competing against other students state-wide, making recognition a great accomplishment.

“The National Merit Scholar is a huge honor, and I’m happy that a couple of students at West got recognized for their scores,” college and career counselor Daniel Gin said. “This award allows you to receive money for college if you are the top half of the top one percent of people who take the test.”

Eight seniors at Niles West were also officially commended for the National Merit Scholarship Program. They include Jacqueline Y. Baik, Tia D. Chung-Swanson, Nicholas Ieremciuc, Zeeshan A. Khan, Faisal J. Patel, Vijay M. Shah, Emily A. Silber and Nicholas R. Stochmal.

These students take the PSAT in the fall of their junior years to qualify for the program as seniors. This year’s PSAT will take place Wednesday, Oct. 19.