Schools

RB Students Win National Merit Scholarships

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announces the second round of National Merit scholarship winners.

Three students from Rancho Bernardo High School, three from Del Norte High School and four students from Westview High School are among approximately 2,500 high school seniors who have won National Merit Scholarship awards, the organization announced last week.

These scholarships, which differ from the corporate scholarships announced in late April, are for $2,500 and not renewable.

According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, the $2,500 scholarship recipients were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors based on the academic record of the applicants, standardized test scores, leadership, an essay and a letter of recommendation from a school official.

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The following RB, 4S Ranch and Rancho Peñasquitos students in Poway Unified School District have been named winners:

  • Vineel C. Adusumilli of Scripps Ranch (Westview High School)
    Probable career field: electrical engineering
  • Laurence J. Li of 4S Ranch (Westview High School)
    Probable career field: computer science
  • Ian Teik-En Lim of 4S Ranch (Westview High School)
    Probable career field: theoretical physics
  • Suyang Kevin Wang of Rancho Peñasquitos (Westview High School)
    Probable career field: electrical engineering
  • Yuwei G. Dai of Scripps Ranch (Rancho Bernardo High School)
    Probable career field: banking
  • Kuyunga Kim of Rancho Bernardo (Rancho Bernardo High School)
    Probable career field: biological engineering
  • Ling L. Zeng of Rancho Bernardo (Rancho Bernardo High School)
    Probable career field: business administration
  • Joyce Lee of 4S Ranch (Del Norte High School)
    Probable career field: surgical medicine
  • Michelle M. Niu of Rancho Bernardo (Del Norte High School)
    Probable career field: materials engineering
  • Shannan Ray-Chaudhuri of 4S Ranch (Del Norte High School)
    Probable career field: electrical engineering

About 1.5 million high school juniors in about 22,000 high schools entered the 2013 National Merit Scholarship competition when they took the 2011 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, according to the NMSC. About 16,000 semifinalists—fewer than one percent of the nation's seniors—were announced in September 2012.

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For National Merit Scholarship consideration, semifinalists had to complete a detailed scholarship application, have an outstanding academic record, be recommended by a high school official, and earn qualifying SAT scores, according to NMSC. About 15,000 met the requirements to become a finalist.

About 8,000 finalists will receive scholarships totaling more than $35 million by the end of the 2013 competition.


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