5 Westlake Students Are National Merit Finalists

WESTLAKE, OH — Five Westlake High School students have been named National Merit Finalists. Steven Brewer, Jack Wu, Ryan Karpuszka, Patrick Lee and Kyle Yu, all seniors, are among 15,000 students to make it to Finalist status in 2018.

The five seniors were plucked from a pool of 1.5 million students, from 22,000 high schools, that entered the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the PSAT. Semifinalists were then selected and those candidates represent less than one percent of all high school seniors. That elite pool of students will compete for roughly $36 million in scholarships.

Finalists are chosen from the pool of Semifinalists. They are chosen based on their academic record, an endorsement from their principal, their SAT scores, an essay and their participation and leadership in school and community activities.

Karpuszka and Lee are also candidates for the U.S. Presidential Scholar status. They are two of only 110 students selected for the competition from Ohio.

Some students will also be named Merit Scholar winner. Those students will be announced at the beginning of April.

Photo Cutline: WHS National Merit Finalists Steven Brewer, Jack Wu, Ryan Karpuska and Patrick Lee (Kyle Yu is not pictured)

Photo from Westlake Schools