News Summary

Over 230 students from Orange County have been honored as semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. This selection recognizes high-achieving high school juniors based on their SAT performance. They now have the opportunity to compete for nearly 7,000 college scholarships valued at approximately $26 million, highlighting the region’s commitment to academic excellence.

Orange County Students Excel as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

Orange County, CA – More than 230 students from Orange County have been recognized as semifinalists in the 71st Annual National Merit Scholarship Program for the 2025 school year. This prestigious program, which selects talented high school juniors from across the United States, announced its semifinalists on September 10, 2023, highlighting a total of 16,000 students nationwide.

The selection of semifinalists was based on students’ performances on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. These high-achieving students will now have the opportunity to compete for approximately 7,000 college scholarships, with a total monetary value nearing $26 million. Scholarships are set to be awarded in spring 2025.

Criteria for Selection and Advancement

Semifinalists represent the top scorers from each state. In addition to their SAT scores, candidates will be evaluated on several criteria, including their participation in school and community activities, demonstration of leadership, academic achievements, and honors received.

An estimated 95% of semifinalists are expected to advance to finalist status. To achieve finalist standing, students must submit a comprehensive application that includes essays and documentation showcasing their academic records. Roughly half of all finalists will ultimately receive National Merit Scholarships.

List of Semifinalists from Orange County High Schools

The following is a list of semifinalists from various high schools across Orange County:

• Aliso Niguel High: Ishan Kumar, Garrett McCormick, Arav Mody, Molei Zhong
• Canyon High: Victoria Bui, Katelyn C. Gooneratne, Kieran LeMaster-Farrimond, Marc Rosu, Matthew Song
• Fairmont Preparatory Academy: Elliott Jang, Anika Nunes, Cayla Shvartsman
• Servite High: Parker Buetow
• Cypress High: Katie B. Lee
• Oxford Academy: Om Gupta, Matthew M. Hong, Daniel Hwang, Hilo N. Luu, Cindy Q. Nguyen, Trina C. So, Nathan Q. Truong, Theodore T. Vang, Jaden Zhang
• Fountain Valley High: Sophie Hsieh, Nathan Palli, Katelyn Tran, Nolan Tran
• Sunny Hills High: Rhea Ji, Danielle Kim, Kevin Lee, Leo Lee, Brandon Phung, Tyler Schroeder
• Troy High: Dorian Y. Aleman, Charles A. Breeden, Brian H. Buehler, Baixuan Chen, Melinda Y. Chen, Eunsung M. Cho, Anirudh Govada, Craig S. Gu, Aadi N. Hanchate, Yuxuan He, Kyle Herdrich, Zhaoyuan Huang, Audrie Kim, Cynthia D. Kung, Roger Y. Li, Tyler J. Lu, Aaryan Mukherjee, Vedanth Narsina, Alexander K. Nguyen, Saanya M. Patel, Avni A. Patil, Tyler R. Pham, Herbert Qin, Sijin N. Qu, Mateo R. Sauceda, Michelle Z. Tan, Anmol S. Uppal, Alex Y. Wang, Joshua H. Wu, TianLang Xiong, Le Xu, Jacob A. Yu, Ivan G. Zimmerman
• Bolsa Grande High: Lena Giang
• Pacifica High: Clayton G. Nguyen
• Huntington Beach High: Lily S. Franzese
• Marina High: Derick M. Chhuon
• Beckman High: Bethany Cheung, Melody Fang, Carson F. Gan, Rohan Hablani, Ian I. Heo, Mattea L. Kim, Suraj S. Shah, Shunqi Xiao
• Crean Lutheran High: Daniel Hahn, Matteo Hernandez, David Wong
• Irvine High: Audrey Chen, Lennon H. Coffin, Shivani Joshi, Dev B. Mittal, Annika Rout, Sriram S. Vaidhyanathan
• Northwood High: Lauryn Chew, Jordan Chu, Cooper N. Delsman, Howard J. Jung, Susan Kim, Bijou Y. Park, Pragnya Ramkumar, Usman Rana, Elliott H. Roh, Raelle Tiong, Michael X. Wen, Kevin Xie, Nicole T. Ye, Sean S. Yu
• Portola High: Adithi A. Aia, Peri Akalin, Hyunsoo Kang, Tyler Kim, Mary J. Lee, William Y. Liang, Claire C. Liu, Suhrith S. Muvvala, Brennon Mye, Keerthana Pillai, Alina Samiullah, Chenpeng Sheng, Yangming Sun, Alana R. Tang, Chloe C. Urianton, Shan-Yu Yeh, Mylyn Zheng, Kerry Zhou
• University High: Connor Chan, Leah K. Chen, Claudia Cheng, Zixi Huang, Xiao Jiang, Brianna Liu, Lawrence B. Liu, Mark Menaker, Daniel S. Nam, Coby S. Schulman, Luca G. Valdevit, Justin L. Wu, Angelina M. Yan, Feodor A. Yevtushenko, Linjie Zhao
• Woodbridge High: Shandi Chen, Marissa Huang, Shashwat Joshi, Andrew J. Kao, Alexander X. Miller, Yuna J. Noh, Saravanavasan Ramadass, Henry Robbins, Dylan P. Suh
• Whittier Christian High: Jonah T. Palicke
• John F. Kennedy High: Seungwon Jeung
• Laguna Beach High: Estella Newton, Zoe Tran
• Santa Margarita Catholic High: Jingze Dai, Chloe A. Forsyth, Katherine Rackohn, Angelina Tao
• Valencia High: Edwin Anthoniraj, Noah Choi, Adam Kim, Carson Lim, Lynzie Lim, Irene Pan, Aashna Shah, Sahej Anand Singh, Leana Sung, Ethan Swarat, Christopher Tran, Caleb Yang, Angela Yao, Evelyn Yao, Delilah Yick
• El Toro High: Charlie Segui
• El Modena High: Ruben Lujan
• J Serra Catholic High: George T. Joseph, Jackson D. Story, Hansford Warner
• Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School: Jialin Dong, Zhou Quan Gao, Jonathan M. Groner, Cyrus W. Kottmeier, Sio Hong Li, Amber Lin, Zhongshun Rao
• Foothill High: Luke G. Bravo
• California Online Schools: Isabel K. Borges, Josephine M. Lee
• San Juan Hills High: Ryan D. Waung
• Home School/Online School: Hyeonseo Ryou

Background on National Merit Scholarship Program

The National Merit Scholarship Program is a highly prestigious academic competition established to recognize and reward outstanding high school students in the United States. The program celebrates its 71st annual competition this year, reflecting a long-standing tradition of promoting educational excellence. Each year, students who excel in the SATs are given the chance to compete for scholarships aimed at helping them pursue higher education.

This year’s large representation from Orange County underscores the region’s commitment to academic achievement and the potential of its high school students. The many semifinalists reflect a range of talents and accomplishments that contribute to the rich educational landscape of the county.

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Additional Resources

• Orange County Register: 2026 National Merit Scholars
• Orange County Register: 2025 National Merit Scholars
• Mercury News: National Merit Semifinalists California 2025
• Daily News: LA County Scholarship Semifinalists 2024
• Irvine Standard: National Merit Scholarship
• Wikipedia: National Merit Scholarship Program
• Google Search: National Merit Scholarship Program
• Encyclopedia Britannica: National Merit Scholarship Program
• Google News: National Merit Scholarship

Author: STAFF HERE COSTA MESA WRITER

COSTA MESA STAFF WRITER The COSTA MESA STAFF WRITER represents the experienced team at HERECostaMesa.com, your go-to source for actionable local news and information in Costa Mesa, Orange County, and beyond. Specializing in "news you can use," we cover essential topics like product reviews for personal and business needs, local business directories, politics, real estate trends, neighborhood insights, and state news affecting the area—with deep expertise drawn from years of dedicated reporting and strong community input, including local press releases and business updates. We deliver top reporting on high-value events such as the OC Fair, Concerts in the Park, and Fish Fry. Our coverage extends to key organizations like the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce and Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Orange Coast, plus leading businesses in retail, fashion, and technology that power the local economy such as Vans, Experian, and South Coast Plaza. As part of the broader HERE network, including HEREAnaheim.com, HEREBeverlyHills.com, HERECoronado.com, HEREHollywood.com, HEREHuntingtonBeach.com, HERELongBeach.com, HERELosAngeles.com, HEREMissionViejo.com, HERESanDiego.com, and HERESantaAna.com, we provide comprehensive, credible insights into California's dynamic landscape.