A pair of Bartlett High School seniors are in the running for one of the country's most prestigious academic awards.

Courtney Bernat and Tiara Starks are among the 16,000 National Merit semifinalists named by the Evanston-based nonprofit that runs the program recognizing the nation's top high school scholars.

According to National Merit, about 1.5 million high school students enter the contest to earn the highest scores on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship qualifying tests. The highest-scoring entrants in each state advance to the next round.

To be eligible for a scholarship, semifinalists must have an outstanding academic record, earn high scores on other standardized tests, and be recommended by their high school principal.

Courtney and Tiara will be notified in February whether they have advanced as finalists. Approximately 8,200 scholarships are given between March and June. Both girls have over a 4.0 GPA and each earned a score of 31 on the ACT.

The girls were honored by the U-46 school board at this week's meeting.