TREDYFFRIN-EASTTOWN, PA — Seven students at Conestoga High School in Berwyn have been named winners of corporate sponsored National Merit Scholarships.
These seven were selected from students who advanced to the finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met criteria of their scholarship sponsors.
Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.
Below are local winners:
Brianna Z. Fan, of Chesterbrook — National Merit Ellucan Scholarship
Probable career field: Healthcare
Ethan Guo, of Chesterbrook — National Merit Johnson & Johnson Scholarship
Probable career field: Computer Science
Michael Z. Yang, of Devon — National Merit Johnson & Johnson Scholarship
Probable career field: Engineering
Zara Samdani, of Malvern — National Merit Mary E. Beyerle Scholarship
Hanyang F. Liu, of Paoli — National Merit Johnson & Johnson Scholarship
Probable career field: Computer Science
Eric R. Xu, of Radnor — National Merit Johnson & Johnson Scholarship
Probable career field: Science/Research
Charlize Sara Ko, of Wayne — National Merit Bristol Myers Squibb Scholarship
Probable career field: Economics
High school juniors entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants.
In September 2024, more than 16,000 semifinalists were designated on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors.
Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of the nation’s seniors.
To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, semifinalists had to fulfill requirements to advance to Finalist standing. Each semifinalist was asked to complete a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions.
Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirmed their qualifying test performance.
From the Semifinalist group, over 15,000 met finalist requirements.
By the conclusion of the 2025 competition, more than 6,930 finalists will have been selected to receive National Merit Scholarships totaling nearly $26 million. Winners are the finalist candidates judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
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