Forty-one students from the Bellevue area have been named semifinalists in the 2011 National Merit scholarship program. They now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,400 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $36 million, that will be offered next spring.

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

National Merit Scholarship winners of 2011 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July.

The Bellevue area semifinalists are:

Bellevue High School: Alan S. Hassler

Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart: Samantha R. Nicols

Hillside Student Community High School: Amy E. Spens

Home School: Timothy S. Mar

Interlake High School: Akash A. Badshah, Rakshit Bhardwaj, Benjamin L. Black, Matthew J. Butrim, Meredith M. Crenshaw, Shanyi Gu, Kayla R. Hammond, Victor Y. Hsiao, Victoria J. Hu, Diane H. Jang, Nathan C. Kato, Daphna Khen, Christina Lee, Michael M. Lee, Austin E. Reifel, Elsa T. Rivers-Moore, Alex Ruan, Nicole R. Schilling, Mira E. Spurgeon, Lydia K. Teegan, Peter S. Tian, Derek W. Tsang, David J. Woo

International School: Gloria Joo, Jeffrey K. Moore, Dafna G. Szafer

Newport High School: Austin W. Davis, Alyssa O. Garrett, Burke F. Gibson, Angela A. Huang, Melody Y. Ju, Lisa Ni, Hannah J. Phelps, Andrew K. Wang, Minkyung Yi, Jeannette J. Yu, Alice N. Yuan