The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has announced the names of the semifinalists in their 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program, including four from Alhambra Unified School District. These academically talented high school seniors now have an opportunity to compete for about 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring.
Less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, including the highest-scoring entrants in each state, are named semifinalists. AUSD’s four National Merit Scholar semifinalists are: Xiushan Lu (Mark Keppel High School), Kenneth San and Kevin San (both from Alhambra High School), and Jade Tan (San Gabriel High School).
The process to become a National Merit Scholar started when they were juniors last year when they took the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. To move forward to the next step, each will need to complete an application and submit their SAT or ACT scores, an essay, and a letter of recommendation by a school official.
Congratulations to Xiushan, Kenneth, Kevin, and Jade on becoming National Merit Scholar semifinalists, and good luck to them as they move forward on their way to earning the prestigious National Merit Scholar designation.
