Mundelein High School senior Paige Prochnow has been named a finalist in the prestigious National Merit Scholarship Program. 

Later this spring, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation will select some 6,870 Merit Scholarship winners from the group of finalists. Prochnow was named one of more than 16,000 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists last September, representing less than 1 percent of high school seniors in the U.S.

To be considered for a scholarship, each semifinalist completed a detailed scholarship application including a written essay and information about extracurricular activities, awards and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official and earn SAT or ACT test scores confirming their qualifying test performance.

Prochnow participates in Varsity Volleyball, Varsity Track and Field, the Peer Tutors Club, National Honor Society, SALT and more. She also achieved a perfect score - a composite score of 36 - on the ACT test taken at the end of her junior year.