Andover High School students Arjun R. Chandra and Vincent J. Xu were among the 16,000 high school students named semifinalists for National Merit Scholarships.
The list of semifinalists also included 12 students at Phillips Academy in Andover. Those students were Kelly Bu, Angela Chen, Elena Dainora Cohen, Evan Y. Huang, Yihao Huang, Davio Jeong, Christine Lee, Joyce Li, Megha Narayanan, Daniel Son and Annika Witt.
The $2,500 scholarships are one of the most prestigious academic awards a high school student can earn and are awarded based on “the skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.” Dozens of U.S. universities offer additional awards, including full scholarships, to National Merit Scholars.
Past winners have ranged from tech titans Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos to best-selling author Stephenie Meyer and U.S. Transportation Secretary and former Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.
Finalists will be announced in February, and winners will be announced in a series of four announcements between April and July 2023. While about 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to be named finalists, only about half of the finalists will receive scholarships.