2022 National Merit Semifinalists Named From Ashburn Schools

ASHBURN, VA — More than two dozen students from Ashburn area high schools have been named 2022 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, taking the first step in securing a scholarship in the competitive program. In total, 25 students from Ashburn were named semifinalists.

On Wednesday, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced approximately 16,000 semifinalists, representing less than 1 percent of high school seniors in the U.S. Students were entered into the competition as juniors by taking the 2020 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Semifinalists were the highest scoring entrants in each state, and the number chosen from each state is proportional to its share of graduating seniors in the U.S.

Here are the students from Ashburn area schools who have achieved semifinalist status:

• Andrew Broughton, Briar Woods High School
• Sunjum Mehta, John Champe High School
• Rishi Modugu, John Champe High School
• Vishnupriya Alavala, Freedom High School
• Saanvi Kandala, Freedom High School
• Justin Kim, Freedom High School
• Samhitha Venkat, Freedom High School
• Reena Wang, Freedom High School
• Manasvi Mothe, Briar Woods High School
• Tryphena Pilli, Briar Woods High School
• Sam Berman, Broad Run High School
• Adrian Cheung, Broad Run High School
• Alexis Nketia, Broad Run High School
• Abhiram Pasupuleti, Broad Run High School
• Anoosha Thumma, Broad Run High School
• Himaja Chintalapalli, Independence High School
• Maria McDonald, Independence High School
• Hriday Unadkat, Independence High School
• Anya Ambarish, Rock Ridge High School
• Raahi Chada, Rock Ridge High School
• Aniket Chityala, Rock Ridge High School
• Arjan Dulai, Rock Ridge High School
• Pawan Kashyap, Rock Ridge High School
• Neha Krishna, Rock Ridge High School
• Akshay Kulkarni, Rock Ridge High School
• Dheemanth Munipalli, Rock Ridge High School
• Keshav Tarafdar, Rock Ridge High School
• Tvisha Vanteru, Rock Ridge High School
• Alex Ning, Stone Bridge High School
• Mitchell Palmer, Stone Bridge High School
• Kyler Sircar, Stone Bridge High School
• Larina Yu, Stone Bridge High School

About 15,000 semifinalists are expected to advance to finalist standing, and over half of the finalists will win about National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million next spring. To be considered as a finalist, semifinalists must submit a detailed scholarship application with information about the student's academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.

The semifinalist must demonstrate an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and write an essay. Scholarship winners will be chosen based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

There are three kinds of scholarships finalists will compete for, corporate-sponsored, college or university-sponsored and National Merit Scholarship Corporation awards. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation's own $2,500 Scholarships will be awarded to 2,500 students on a state-representational basis. Around 1,000 corporate-sponsored scholarships will be provided by about 220 corporations and business organizations for students who meet their criteria. For example, the criteria may include being children of an employee at the sponsoring business or residents of communities where the business has locations or offices. Around 180 colleges and universities are expected to fund about 4,100 awards for finalists who will attend their school.

Winners will be announced in four groups between April and July 2022.