More than 120,000 high school juniors from all parts of the U.S entered the 2005 Achievement Program by requesting consideration when they took the 2003 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Qualifying Test in the spring. Semifinalists were designated within geographic regions and are the highest-scoring program entrants in the states that make up each region.

To be considered for Achievement Scholarship awards, semifinalists must advance to the finalist level of the competition by fulfilling a number of requirements. They must have a record of high academic performance throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by their school principal, earn SAT scores that confirm their earlier Preliminary SAT performance, and write a self-descriptive essay.

The semifinalist and a school official also must complete a scholarship application in which they provide information about the student's participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, and educational goals.

All Achievement Scholarship winners will be selected from the Finalist group based on their abilities, accomplishments and potential for academic success in college.

The names of winners of National Achievement $2500 Scholarships and corporate-sponsored awards will be released to news media in late March. Recipients of college-sponsored scholarships will be announced in June.

The program is sponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which also conducts the National Merit Scholarship Program.

The National Achievement Scholarship Program is an academic competition established in 1964 to provide recognition for outstanding African American high school students and increase their educational opportunities. Since the program was founded, more than 25,000 academically talented participants have received Achievement Scholarship awards worth nearly $80 million.