Among the group are Anthony Huynh, Ashwin Mahadevan and Samuel Schepps from Cherokee High School.
The Lenape Regional High School District is congratulating four senior students who have been named National Merit Semifinalists as part of the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program.
According to the district, Anthony Huynh, Ashwin Mahadevan and Samuel Schepps, all from Cherokee High School, and Sakshi Chopra, from Lenape High School, join a nationwide pool of about 16,000 academically talented high school seniors who now have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million.
District officials say semifinalists represent the highest-scoring students in each state who took the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
According to the district, about 1.6 million students from more than 22,000 high schools took the test to enter the National Merit Scholarship competition.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, each Semifinalist must now fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition, including submitting an application that details his or her academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors and awards received.
According to the district, about 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, which will be awarded in the spring of 2018.
“I commend Anthony, Ashwin, Samuel and Sakshi, four bright, hard-working students, for this prestigious accomplishment,” said superintendent Carol Birnbohm. “The district will fully support them as they complete the requirements to move to finalist status and hopefully National Merit Scholarship winners, as chosen from among the finalist group, based on abilities, skills, and accomplishments. I wish our Fabulous Four all continued success in their work toward this extraordinary award. We are very proud of them.”
