16 Brahmas Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists!
September 9, 2020, officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 66th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Congratulations to the following 16 Brahmas who have been recognized for demonstrating exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies:
Diamond Bar High Semifinalists:
Sritaran Bondada, Emily Chen, Aaron Hao, Brandon Kam, Caitlin Lee, Camille McCurry, Celine Shen, Nathan Song, Claire Wang, Derek Wang, Benjamin Wu, Chelsea Wu, Breanna Yang, Jacob Zhi, Erin Zhou and Luke Zhou
These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $30 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. Over 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and more than half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.
Over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2019 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
