Emilee Booth, Bern Ebersole and Ellen Wakeley, members of a 2005 graduating class of 46 students at St. Aloysius High School, have been named National Merit finalists.

Tiffany Tiwari, in the 207-member senior class at Vicksburg High School, has also received notice of the honor won in competition based on tests given to students across the nation.

The National Merit scholarship programs began in 1955, and each year about 1.3 million high school seniors enroll in the process that makes them eligible for major scholarships.

Eligibility is based on students taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test as high school juniors and the Scholastic Aptitude Test as seniors.

In the fall, about 55,000 semifinalists are named. Then, based on scores and the application review, 15,000 seniors are named finalists in February and 8,200 of this number will receive National Merit scholarships. In addition, colleges and universities will also offer more scholarship opportunities to finalists.

In total, scholarships can amount to about $50 million in undergraduate study funds, according to the National Merit Corp.

Booth is the daughter of Jerome and Anna Booth; Ebersole is the son of Bruce and Story Ebersole; Wakeley is the daughter of James and Lillian Wakeley; and Tiwari is the daughter of Dr. Tapan Kumar and Chunmn Tiwari.