Local Students Among National Scholarship Semifinalists
Three seniors from Castro Valley High School (CVHS) and one from Redwood Christian High School have been named semifinalists in this year’s National Merit Scholarships Award. Winners in four categories will be announced starting in April 2025.
Sean Chen, Haley Crowell, Edison Huang from CVHS, and Zachary White from Redwood were notified of their semifinalist status last Wednesday. Each student qualified for consideration based on their scores on the Preliminary SAT.
Chen, Crowell, Huang, and White join more than 16,000 other semifinalists nationwide. The students compete for around 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million.
“Our scholars continue to make us proud and inspire us with their diligence, hard work, and intellect,” said Castro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi. “I am so incredibly proud of each and every one of the students who have been named as finalists for National Merit Scholarship Awards.”
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) manages the annual contest. The private, not-for-profit organization was founded in 1955 in reaction to Cold War fears that US students were falling behind scholastically. The National Achievement Scholarship Program was added in 1964 to complement the passage of the Civil Rights Act, specifically to recognize and honor academically talented Black American high school students.
Semifinalists must fulfill several additional requirements to advance to the finalist level. A semifinalist can become a finalist and compete for a Merit Scholarship award in only one program year. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and about half will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
Corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship Winners will be announced on April 23, 2025. National Merit $2,500 Scholarship Winners will be announced on May 7. College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship Winners get their announcement on June 4, with Additional College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship Winners announced on July 14.
Most of the scholarships offered each year are underwritten by approximately 440 independent corporate and college sponsors, including NMSC, that share the Corporation’s goals of honoring scholastically talented youth and encouraging academic excellence at all levels of education.