National Merit 2025: LA County scholarship semifinalists announced
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