5 Villanova Students Vie for Scholarships

Five students at Villanova Preparatory School who took the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test last fall have been named as semifinalists in the scholarship program.

The students are Michael Ferrante of Ojai, Alissa Irion of Santa Paula, Claire Luna of Camarillo, Shelley Rowland of Oak View and Nicholas Begley of Los Angeles.

The students at the Catholic high school in Ojai are among 15,000 students who have the opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 7,000 Merit Scholarships, which will be awarded in spring 1997.

Semifinalists must advance to the finalist level by fulfilling additional requirements, which include maintaining an outstanding academic record and endorsement by the high school principal.

The National Merit Scholarship program is a privately funded, nonprofit corporation. Merit Scholarships, totaling $27 million, are supported by 600 independent sponsor organizations and institutions.