Nine WHS Seniors Named in 2018 National Merit Program

Ella Gray, Meghana Tandon, Talia Zheng, Hyun Park, Nate Gray, Mihir Shetty, Akhilesh Reddy, Claire Brewer and Isabella DiGiulio

Nine Westlake High School seniors were named 2018 National Merit Semifinalists.

Seniors Claire Brewer, Isabella DiGiulio, Ella Gray, Nate Gray, Hyun Park, Akhilesh Reddy, Mihir Shetty, Meghana Tandon and Talia Zheng are among the 16,000 students across the country who took the PSAT in their junior year and earned scores high enough to qualify as Semifinalists. These students will move on to compete for approximately 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $34 million.

WHS has top in the number of Semifinalists in the Southwestern Conference and among the top school districts in Northeast Ohio, both public and private.

Less than 1 percent of high school seniors make it to the semifinal round. About 90 percent of semifinalists are expected to move on to become National Merit Finalists, which should be announced in February. About half of all finalists are awarded National Merit Scholarships. To become finalists, the semifinalists must submit a scholarship application that includes a strong academic record and an account of their participation in school and community activities, leadership abilities, participation in school and community activities, employment and any honors or awards.