Eight students from Barrington High School have been named semifinalists in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship program.

Fifty-one students from Rhode Island — and about 16,000 in total — were selected semifinalists, earning the opportunity to compete for one of the National Merit Scholarships available. There are approximately 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 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," stated a press release from the organization. "Over 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title."

The semifinalists from Barrington are all Barrington High School students — Kelly Gorman, Eden Lamb, Jessica Liang, Aryana Mohammadi, Trevor Mohlman, Mitchell Salomon, Venus Tian and Joshua Xang.

Students qualify for the program by taking the PSAT test, which serves as an initially screening for the program. The highest scoring students are selected as semifinalists.

In order to become a finalist, the semifinalist must work with a high school official and submit a detailed application.

"A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and write an essay," stated the press release.

The finalists will be announced in the spring.

Following is a list of all Rhode Island students selected as semifinalists in the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program:

Barrington High School

Kelly Gorman

Eden Lamb

Jessica Liang

Aryana Mohammadi

Trevor Mohlman

Mitchell Salomon

Venus Tian

Joshua Xang

Coventry High School

Riley Marszalek

Alexander Tsang

Cranston High East

William Hardy

Cranston High West

Samah Alam

Samuel Latzman

Blackstone Valley Prep

Andrew Feretti

Cumberland High School

Brendan Johnson

East Greenwich High School

Jessica Caterson

Jordan Kalinsky

Sophia Patti

Rocky Hill School

Troy Johnson

East Providence High School

Sarasvati Buchta

St. George's School

Nikhil Sharma

Narragansett High School

Andrew Simone

North Kingstown High School

Andrew Bard

Nathan Casey

Jacob Gagnon

Julia Totten

Daniel Ventura

North Providence High School

Olivia Avelino

Portsmouth High School

Sabrina Leary

Moses Brown School

Vaibhav Duggirala

Vishwas Duggirala

Vibha Kamath

Kevin Masse

Emily Younkin

Classical High School

William Milonas-Milligan

Luke Taylor

LaSalle Academy

Jacob Eberson

Wheeler School

Declan Allio

Anna Cornelissen

Jane Josefowicz

Darshan Mehta

Isaiah Suchman

Eric Tang

William Xia

Bay View

Brooke Newbury

Prout School

Katherine Conforti

Michael Garman

Mary Graybill

Janice Hixon

Bishop Hendricken

Christopher Relyea

Spencer Wood