11 Great Valley Students Among National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

MALVERN, PA -- The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has announced the semifinalists for their 2017 competition, and 11 students from Great Valley High School made the list.

About 16,000 high school seniors from around the country are chosen as semifinalists, who then compete for about 7,500 scholarships determined in the spring of 2017.

Great Valley semifinalists include:

• Alla, Sravya
• Appasani, Mahitha
• Beauregard, Everett
• Dougherty, Erica C.
• Jain, Divya
• Li, Jane
• Narayanan, Sanjana
• Pyc, Jonathan T.
• Ren, Jason M.
• Sharma, Aditi
• Xu, Jesse W.

In addition, five Malvern Prep students were picked:

• DeStefano, Zachary L.
• Li, Nicholas
• Nowlan, Marc
• Pizzico, Tyler R.
• Yablonski, Adam C.

Jessica Perry of Villa Maria Academy was also selected.

A total of $33 million in scholarships will be awarded to winners. Roughly 90 percent of semifinalists are awarded finalist scholarships, according to the corporation.

To advance, semifinalists must submit a detailed application including academic record, participation in school and community activities, leadership abilities, employment history, and any honors or awards received.

The winners are selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who look over an expansive portfolio on each individual student, including academic records, extracurricular activities, standardized test results, leadership skills, an essay, and a letter of recommendation.

Great Valley had two finalists in 2016. 10 students from Chester County were among the winners.

Editor's note: a previous version of this story incorrectly stated that 6 students had been named semifinalists. In fact, 11 students from Great Valley have been named semifinalists.

Patch file photo.