6 Buffalo Grove Area Students Win 2024 National Merit Scholarships

BUFFALO GROVE, IL — There is some local flavor to the latest installment of 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program award-winners. On the second list of four announced for the 2023-2024 school year, six Buffalo Grove area students are recipients of the corporate-sponsored awards, including:

• Pradyumn M. Bonu, of Buffalo Grove (Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire), probable career field of finance, $2,500 scholarship
• Jennifer J. Huang, of Buffalo Grove (Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire), probable career field of medicine, $2,500 scholarship
• Medha Mamidipaka, of Buffalo Grove (Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire), probable career field of computer science, $2,500 scholarship
• Vageesh B. Ramaswamy, of Buffalo Grove (Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire), probable career field of law, $2,500 scholarship
• Helen R. Qian, of Lincolnshire (Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire), probable career field of biomedical engineering, $2,500 scholarship
• Richelle M. Shi, of Long Grove (Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire), probable career field of surgical medicine, $2,500 scholarship

By the conclusion of this year's competition, National Merit Scholarship Corporation estimates more than 6,870 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $26 million.

The designees were chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the program.

According to officials, the scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools, including: academic record, which includes difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®); contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.

RELATED: 2 Buffalo Grove Students Named 2024 National Merit Scholarship Winners