Diamond Bar, Walnut High Seniors Named National Merit Semifinalists

By Kelli Gile

Walnut – 38 Diamond Bar and Walnut High School seniors have been named Semifinalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program. The nationwide pool of about 16,000 Semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors in each state.

The following students have been recognized for demonstrating exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies:

Diamond Bar High: Crystal Chang, Eric T. Chen, Janet Du, Ran Gu, Melody C. Guo, Charlene L. Hsu, Renee L. Kau, Jung Hyun Kim, Prince S. Kim, Gloria Lee, Felix Lien, Letitia So, Angela Song, Frances T. Song, Hsuan-Te Sun, Jonathan Sun, Kyle Wang, Margaret Wang, Ava Y. Wu, Frances Wu, Jennifer Wu, Claire Yang, Adele Zhang, Jeremy Tran.

Walnut High:  Alison Chang, Michelle Chang, Benjamin P Hang, Jane Kim, Brian Y. Ko, Alvin Li, Doris Li, Dardrin Qin, Dalton Trinh, Derek Wan, Angel T. Wong, Daniel Yoon, Freya Zhu, Maxwell L. Zhu.

About 1.5 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2014 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

These academically talented high school seniors will now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,400 scholarships worth about $32 million that will be offered next spring by National Merit Scholarship Corporation, private companies, colleges, and foundations. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements including detailed applications, recommendations, essays, and SAT scores, to advance to the Finalist level of the competition.

Congratulations students, parents, and teachers on these outstanding accomplishments!