When Sanquanett Jones and Willie Green took the Preliminary SAT test as juniors last spring, they didn’t think much about filling in the small bubble that qualified them for the National Achievement Scholarship Program, an academic competition for Black American high school students.

Maybe that’s why both Jones and Green said they were surprised to learn last week they were two of only 26 semifinalists in Mississippi and 1,500 in the country in the national competition.

Jones, who plans to attend Mississippi State University in the fall, said the competition is helpful to black high schoolers who sometimes cannot afford college.

More than 700 Achievement Scholarships totaling $2.5 million will be awarded to finalists in the competition. About 1,200 of the 1,500 semifinalists are expected to become finalists, according to Elaine Detweiler, the program’s public information director.

Green said he plans to attend Copiah-Lincoln Community College for a year after graduation.

Being named a semifinalist has already had an affect on Green, he said. &uot;It reinforces you — makes you want to work harder,&uot; he said.

Jones said the same: &uot;I think this made me realize I can do it and made me want to do the best that I can,&uot; she said.

Both Jones and Green are seniors at Natchez High School.

Green is the son of Willie S. and Delilah Green, and Jones is the daughter of Stanford and Shirley Jones.

More than 110,000 black students entered the 2001 Achievement Program. Semifinalists were chosen from the highest-scoring entrants on the 1999 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

To be considered as finalists, Jones and Green must have a high academic performance throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by their principal and earn SAT scores that confirm their PSAT performance.

They must also complete a detailed application about school participation, community activities, leadership abilities and educational goals.