19 Solon High Schoolers Named National Merit Semifinalists

SOLON, OH — The class of 2018 at Solon High School has smart kids. The district announced Wednesday that 19 seniors have been named National Merit Semifinalists. The students were selected partly based on their PSAT scores.

The 19 Solon seniors named as National Merit Scholar semi-finalists for 2018 are: Anushree Aneja, Sydney Bolomey, Joseph Feng, Michael Foley, Geoffrey Gao, Luisana Gonzalez Di Tillio, Pranav Iyer, Aman Jain, Vivian Jiang, Cassidy McColl, Justin Prindle, Luke Qin, Emily Rabinovich, Vivian Ren, Rachel Rothschild, Madison Wessler, Alice Wu, David Ye and Lewis Zou.

Those students will continue in the National Merit Scholarship competition. They will be able to compete for awards offered next spring as well as scholarships offered through colleges and corporations. (To stay up to date on local stories, subscribe to the Patch Solon newsletter. As news breaks and the story develops, you will be the first to receive updates from Patch.)

“Everyone at Solon High School is thrilled to see so many members of our senior class recognized as 2018 National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists,” said Solon High School Principal Erin Short in a statement. “This recognition underscores the consistency in academic achievement at Solon High School and throughout the district. Year after year the walls in the lobby outside the auditorium showcase the excellence of students honored through the National Merit Scholar programs.”

Solon isn't done racking up the awards either. The school district said in the next few weeks it should be able to release the names of students who earned the commended scholar status from the National Merit Scholarship competition.

The National Merits Scholarship group has already designated 16,000 semifinalists. Approximately 1.6 million student entered consideration. Those students represent 22,000 high schools.

To be named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists a student must submit a detailed application including information on their academic record, extracurriculars, employment, leadership abilities and other honors and awards received. The student must also get a recommendation letter from a faculty member, write an essay and earn a qualifying score on the SAT.

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