A student’s graduation cap says it all on May 20, 2024. (Photo by Andy Holzman, Contributing Photographer)
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced on Wednesday, Sept. 11, its 2025 list of semifinalist high school students who will now compete for a share of about 6,870 scholarships worth almost $26 million. Winners will be announced nationally between April and July next year. This is the 70th annual competition.
High school juniors, 11th graders, in the United States entered the academic competition by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. More than 1.3 million juniors, in about 21,000 high schools, entered the competition by taking the qualifying test.
The highest-scoring students in each state represent the pool of semifinalists who, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, represent less than 1% of United States high school seniors.
The next step for a semifinalist to become a finalist is to complete the required application that includes their SAT or ACT scores, an essay and a letter of recommendation by a high school official.
Finalists are then chosen on the basis of academic record, their participation in community and school activities, how they have demonstrated leadership ability, employment, awards and honors received.
From the group of about 16,000 semifinalists, an expected 95% advance to the finalist category.
Students will be notified in February 2025 if they are finalists, and about half of those win a scholarship from three categories.
National Merit $2500 Scholarships: Every finalist competes for one of 2,500 scholarships that are awarded on a state-representational basis
Corporate-sponsored scholarships: About 770 corporate-sponsored awards will be given out by about 130 corporations and business organizations for finalists who meet their specified criteria (such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located)
College-sponsored scholarships: About 150 colleges and universities finance about 3,600 awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor’s institution
The National Merit Scholarship winners, chosen on the basis of accomplishments, skills and potential for college success, are selected from the February finalists group. Winners are notified, on a rolling basis, in 2025 from April to July.
The 2025 scholarship winners join the nearly 382,000 past winners who have earned the title of Merit Scholar.
Here is the list of semifinalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program in Los Angeles County by school location and the school name
Acton
Vasquez HS
Ryan S. Ames
Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills HS
Christian Fonkalsrud
Matthew Gelb
Ian Korob
Alhambra
Alhambra HS
Kaung H. San
Kaung M. San
Mark Keppel HS
Xiushan Lu
Arcadia
Arcadia HS
Avani A. Athavale
Minjun Cha
Lewis Cheng
Hei Yin Choy
Syed S. Hussain
Dhruti G. Kulkarni
Avik Kumar
Annette L. Lin
Mia Y. Liu
Don C. Luc
Max M. Ma
Zuni Ng
Atharv A.Prabhutendolkar
Anas S. G. Yousuf Mohammed
Catherine Z. Wang
Herrick X. Wang
Zejin Xu
Evan S. Yen
Bellflower
St. John Bosco HS
Josue Sanchez
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills HS
Benjamin Bakshian
Tali Goldkorn
Vincent Li
Andrew Smiler
Sarah Zhang
Brentwood
Liberty HS
Phoenix E. Cabrera
Burbank
Burbank HS
Avedis Missakian
Diya Patel
International School Los Angeles
Madeleine Cheung
Calabasas
Viewpoint School
Julian Dans
Samuel L. Green
Canyon Country
Canyon HS
Christopher J. Barrett
Carson
California Academy of Mathematics and Science
Isaiah Choung
Yuchan Chung
Justin Kim
Titiksha Lunker
Phong Trinh
Quan Vu
Cerritos
Cerritos HS
Jayden A. Lin
Gretchen Whitney HS
Aanya Anand
Benjamin Chao
Jaden Han
Ann Huang
Ethan Hui
Stanley Kim
Luv Kumar
Dineth Senanayake
Gavin-Kai Vida
Christopher Vu
Chatsworth
Sierra Canyon School
Qinghe Xu
Qiao Zhang
Claremont
Claremont HS
Leo L. Cheng
Ian L. Moore
Sofia M. Ou
Simon P. Rockwell
Vivian Webb School
Kexin Duan
Danting Hou
Wen Yang
Webb School of California
Zhenghao Hu
Tingxu Lan
Jay Pang
Hanbo Xu
Aaron Yang
Diamond Bar
Diamond Bar HS
Nattanicha Chaisakulchai
Jayden Chen
Amanda Chung
Janna Audrey Doratan
Ethan Hoen
Cody Jung
Matthew Liu
Daniel Prasetyo
Donson Xie
Duarte
Duarte HS
Dominic Anaya-Gulaya
El Segundo
El Segundo HS
Caleb Tsai
Vistamar School
Logan Pagani
Glendora
Glendora HS
Carter Prince
Diya Ravi
Granada Hills
Granada Hills Charter HS
Victor Boodram
Stephanie Dinh
Kaytlin Hendrix
Nicole Kim
Thomas Mayberry
Benjamin Sun
Hollywood
Hollywood HS
Hudson N. Kim
La Cañada Flintridge
Flintridge Preparatory School
Clara Bassuk
Kai Belzer
Elise Fong
Michelle Geller
Steinunn Liorsdottir
Gregory Sue
Chase Waldheim
Sophia Zhong
La Cañada HS
Colin Hwang
Eliya Kim
Gabriel Kronson
Zoe Petropoulos
Samuel Street
Kaylee Thornburgh
Aidan Wei
St. Francis HS
Christopher J. Stephens
La Crescenta
Clark Magnet HS
Xander Zufelt
Crescenta Valley HS
Easan Hamkins
Aiden Kim
Garrison Ma
Alex MacMillan
Jamie Mansukhani
Lily Zou
Long Beach
Long Beach Polytechnic HS
Tejus Deo-Dixit
Sarah Madden
Allegra R. Steege
Jade Steege
Los Angeles
The Archer School for Girls
Julianna Hatton
Brentwood School
Tara Malhotra
Geffen Academy at UCLA
Bryce Koga
Matthew Wen
Jonah J. Wood
Larchmont Charter School
Milo B. Gilhool
Loyola HS
Turner J. Algra
Connor Beerbower
Lucas M. Brumbach
Samuel T. Lee
John C. Mastandrea
Chase H. Nam
Marlborough School
Yuan Cheng
Siena Grouf
Emma Melville
Ava Park
Margalit Salkin
Eloise Shin
Beatrice Williams
Riley Yang
Milken Community School
Lucas C. Besterman
Samantha L. Simms
Windward School
Aman Granados-Puvvula
Quaid Shubin
Manhattan Beach
Mira Costa HS
Eleanora Digilio
Colin Freelin
Cameron Hughes
Jack Kjar
Katherine Kligys
Hudson Sagadevan
Elizabeth Witherell
Monrovia
Monrovia HS
Jackson Killen
Newhall
William S. Hart HS
Caitlin E. Brown
North Hollywood
North Hollywood HS
Dylan E. Chang
Arman Ghasemi
Michael Isayan
Matthew M. Kim
Andrew Lee
Hriday V. Meka
Nathan A. Minton
Penelope C. Swain
Eno Thomson-Tribe
Aeneas M. Wood
Oakwood School
Markus Cleckler
Louis Reich
Science Academy Stem Magnet
Gideon E. Said
David S. Tang
Pacific Palisades
Palisades Charter HS
James Ball
Annalisa Hurd
Samantha Sonnett
Palos Verdes Estates
Palos Verdes HS
Michael Q. Fu
Olivia J. Kao
Avery K. Tydlaska
Allison S. Yu
Palos Verdes Peninsula
Chadwick School
Bryce Hatch
Diane Lee
Noah Matsunaga
Ryan Saket
Jack Segil
Ashton Yoon
Pasadena
La Salle HS
Jake Hoskins
Ethan Lin
Annie M. Liu
Xinyan Liu
Lucas A. Truong
Maranatha HS
Zalan Volkan-Kacso
Marshall Fundamental HS
Alejandro Leyva
Pasadena HS
Paulina McConnell
Matthew Paz
Polytechnic HS
Ashley Kim
Evelyn Kim
Ennio Sim
Ava Teng
Westridge School
Sarah Leizman
Yeuk On Li
Pomona
Diamond Ranch HS
Ryan N. LeFevre-Dhore
Shakari J. Sykes
Redondo Beach
Redondo Union HS
Paul Carson
Christian Chae
Kyler Douglas
Madison Kurihara
Amelia Leto
Tristan Lu
Yijun Son
Reseda
Reseda HS
Angel G. Ramirez-Rios
Rolling Hills Estates
Palos Verdes Peninsula HS
Emily Y. Aye
Neekta S. Baghoolizadeh
Meizhu Chai
Ray Z. Choo
Leila M. Espinoza
Charlotte M. Fast
Abigail F. Lee
Brandon K. Lin
Juliette J. Lin
Eric Y. Lu
Jacob A. Ma
Aaron S. Monzon
Alena C. Rhoades
Mason W. Shu
Hyunbin So
Bryce R. Tom
Angelina Y. Wang
Zhian Xu
Rowland Heights
John A. Rowland HS
James Y. Hagiwara
Arthur C. Liang
San Gabriel
Gabrielino HS
Kaden C. Chan
Brandon Vuong
San Gabriel HS
Jade Tan
San Marino
San Marino HS
Caitlin Chwang
Leo Feng
Shanaya Jasim
Jingshu Ji
Jeremy Karkafi
Krishna S. Kesavalu
Andy W. Liu
Connor Mao
Fei Wu
Santa Clarita
Academy of the Canyons
Praneel Samal
Santa Monica
Crossroads School
Rowan Koskoff
Sophie Ma
Benjamin A. Shaheen
Pacifica Christian HS
Drew Gerold
Santa Monica HS
Phoebe R. Benun
Naomi Z. Gage
Connor H. Lee
Isabella C. Moses
Henry H. Sullivan
Avelaine R. Thompson
Emi Yamashiro-Hergert
Saugus
Saugus HS
Acey Distor
Sherman Oaks
The Buckley School
Thomas Barrett
Sam Wagenaar
Notre Dame HS
Anton Caballero
Rowell Pangilinan
Carter Ranshaw
South Pasadena
South Pasadena HS
William Chang
Peter Dickinson
Suh-Hyun Kang
Isole Kim
Max Slattery
Morgan Sun
Ryan Wong
Christine Xu
Taidi Yue
Studio City
Campbell Hall
Christopher Braun
Sage Kim
Harvard-Westlake School
Sasha S. Aghnatios
Michael T. Barr
Kira A. Beerel
Rowan Callaghan
Hugh Cheng
Aryadini D. Diggavi
Zoe S. Goor
Cole A. Grossman
Pranav Iyer
Riyan B. Kadribegovic
Zhi Feng Etan Kiang
Saisha Kumar
Remy Kushner
Everett M. Lakey
Alex S. Lee
MeJo Liao
Ian Lieberman
Jacob Massey
Seth D. O’Brien
Tyler H. Park
Olivia Phillips
Margaret E. Pritzker
William R. Putzer
Samuel Reiner
Jordan Royer
John Ryan
Sophia S. Schaffer
Ethan Seung
Olivia S. So
Max L. Turetzky
Piper N. Vita
Edward H. Ward
Sun Valley
Village Christian HS
Cecillia Kim
Temple City
Temple City HS
Allison Fong
Joyce Hu
Tiffany Phan
Torrance
Bishop Montgomery HS
Caden Choi
Kaila Hahn
South HS
Alexis Choi
Anay Kamboj
West HS
Qinghan Jia
Tujunga
Verdugo Hills HS
Airin Avanesian
Valencia
Valencia HS
Ritu Yeshala
Elbert Zeng
West Ranch HS
Hannah S. Lee
Jonathan J. Myung
Camille Y. Song
Van Nuys
Van Nuys HS
Trenton A. Ayson
Venice
Venice HS
Fateh G. Aliyev
Walnut
Walnut HS
Jiarong Bian
Justin Cheng
Surya D. Donath
Ted H. Hong
David H. Kang
Barron P. Lee
Andrew Z. Lin
Anson Lin
West Covina
Edgewood HS
Aquilin H. Hsiao
West Hills
Chaminade College Preparatory
Luke Lahoud
De Toledo HS
Adam M. Donaty
Westlake Village
Oaks Christian HS
Troy P. Brady
XuXu L. Denzel
Ellison G. Korman
Max J. Lee
Logan R. Winter
Owen C. Yang
Westlake HS
Nina Deng
Eva Firoozbakht
Zirak Guzder
Jonah Kim
Dhilen Mistry
Oren Wacht
Wilmington
Dr. Richard A Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy
Eric M. Tobias
Woodland Hills
El Camino Real Charter HS
Brendan M. Luna
High school students interested in applying in future years need to talk to their school counselor to make arrangements to take the PSAT/NMSQT test. Registration is through the high school and not by the students. For information on the competition, tinyurl.com/mrx4t933
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation was established in 1955 and is an independent, not-for-profit group that does not operate with government assistance.
The goals of the organization are to reward academically-dedicated students, encourage academic excellence at all levels of education, promote a deeper respect for learning in general and to encourage individuals and organizations to sponsor scholarships. nationalmerit.org
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