7 Temecula Students Named 2023 Nat'l Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

TEMECULA, CA — The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of over 16,000 semifinalists in the 68th annual National Merit Scholarship Program, including 14 students from across Riverside County, seven of them from Temecula-area high schools.

Fewer than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors are chosen as semifinalists in the prestigious competition.

The students are competing for 7,250 scholarships worth nearly $28 million to be awarded in multiple rounds next spring and summer.

These semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and about half of them will go on to win a National Merit Scholarship.

The next step for the semifinalists and their schools is to submit a detailed scholarship application that includes their academic records, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards they've received. The student must also earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm their earlier performance on the qualifying test.

The scholarships are underwritten by National Merit's own funds and by approximately 340 business organizations, colleges and universities.

Semifinalists entered the competition as juniors by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen for entrants. The number of semifinalists in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.

Here is a list of RivCo's semifinalists:

Corona:

Centennial High School:

• Shivansh Soni

Corona High School:

• Aisha K Randhawa

Santiago High School:

• Lorelei Tang
• Audrey J. Wang

Eastvale:

Roosevelt High School:

• Marilyn J. Li

Lake Elsinore:

Temescal Canyon High School:

• Xuxuan Jin

Murrieta:
Murrieta Valley High School:

• Sophia J. Miles

Temecula:

Chaparral High School:

• Benjamin Sullivan-Douglass

Great Oak High School:

• Annie Hu
• Charlotte Myers
• Rachael Yuan

Linfield Christian School:

• Alexis Jones

Temecula Valley High School:

• Alexandre J. Pelaez

Temecula Preparatory School, Winchester:

• Danielle H. Yeckley

Finalists who win the National Merit Scholarships will be notified in February, 2023.