25 Arcadia High Students Named National Merit Scholarship Finalists

Arcadia High School made another exceptional showing in this year’s National Merit Scholarship Program, with 25 Apaches named as National Merit Scholarship Finalists. This is the 24th consecutive year that Arcadia High School has had over 85 percent of its students advance from semifinalists to finalists in this renowned program. 

Students honored each year by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) represent less than one percent of high school seniors in the United States. The 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program had approximately 1.6 million juniors from more than 22,000 high schools to consider at the onset of this year’s program. From these entrants, the NMSC recognized about 50,000 academically talented high school students, with 75 AHS students making the first round of recognition. 

In the next round of applicant evaluation, nearly 16,000 student scholars were selected as semifinalists. This figure was further refined to a finalist pool comprised of 15,000 students. Among these finalists are 25 Apaches who are currently in the running to receive one of about 7,500 National Merit Scholarships whose combined total reaches nearly $33 million. 

“AHS students have received recognition from the National Merit Scholarship Program each year for well over 20 years now,” reflected Arcadia Unified School District Superintendent Dr. David Vannasdall. “Most of our Arcadia High students are products of Arcadia Unified’s K-8 schools. Our consistently strong showing in this program is a true testament to the unwavering dedication shown by all of our students, teachers, and staff to creating a foundation of success that will serve our students beyond high school graduation.” 

Merit Scholarship winners will be selected by a committee comprised of seasoned college admission officers and high school counselors. Students selected as Merit Scholarship recipients are judged to have the most distinguished credentials and highest potential for academic success, without consideration of financial need, college choice or major and career plans. Scholarship winners will begin receiving offers this month. 

Arcadia High School National Merit Scholarship Finalists: (Alphabetical order by last name)

Janine S. Chan, Simone Claire Chu, Samuel X. Cui, Daniel A. Harnanto, Cathleen Huang, Cecilia Lee, Wendy W. Lee, Yue Liang, Yi Hsuan Lin, Kimberly Lo, Donna A. Sayphraraj, Nora Sebeca Sharp, Brianna M. Sun, Yanxi Tang, Justin K. Tay, Tiffany M. Tsui, Nicholas K. Ung, William X. Wang, Charles Xu, Cathleen Yang, Isabell Yang, Pearl Yang, Keerthana Yogananthan, Stanley Yu, and Lucy Y. Zhang