Last month, officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) in Evanston, IL announced the names of 34,000 students from across the nation who have received letters of commendation for demonstrating exceptional academic promise through their outstanding performance on the preliminary SAT qualifying test last fall. Pennington seniors who have garnered Commended Student distinction in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program are Haokai (Harry) Cao, Ruichen (Martin) Ding, Heyi (Henry) Fan, Maura Halpin, Charlotte Lee, Charlie Lewin, Zhicheng (Bruce) Li, Honghe (King) Liu, Yongjia (Kelly) Liu, Chi Fui (William) Ni, Vivaan Ravindran, Elliott Sciaraffo, and Jayen Shah.

NMSC^® was established in 1955 with the following goals: to honor the nation’s scholastic champions and encourage the pursuit of academic excellence. According to the organization, “Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.”

According to a spokesperson for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.” 

Congratulations to these amazing scholars.

 

Not pictured: Zhicheng (Bruce) Li, Vivaan Ravindran, and Elliot Sciaraffo.