The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced this week that two Williston Northampton School seniors have been selected as National Merit finalists.

Emily R. Peirent and Callum S. Poulin had been named semifinalists in the 2015 National Merit Scholarship Program in September. The finalist designation means that they are now eligible for a merit scholarship, which will be announced this spring.

Mr. Poulin has received awards in boys junior varsity skiing and Latin; Ms. Peirent received the Asahel Lyman Williston prize in English last year, a commendation for her work on The Log, and was inducted into the Cum Laude Society this fall.

For receiving the finalist designation, Ms. Peirent and Mr. Poulin will be honored during an Upper School assembly on February 18 and will be presented with certificates of merit.

Established in 1955, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the merit and achievement scholarship programs of the same name. Students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test—a test that serves as an initial screening of more than 1.5 million entrants each year.

The semifinalists were named in the fall of 2014. Students must be selected as one of 15,000 finalists before being considered for an Achievement Scholarship award. The NMSC will notify scholarship awardees for the corporate-sponsored, nation, and college-sponsored merit scholarships in April and May of 2015.