Deerfield-Windsor School senior, Shivani Yadavalli was chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program.
ALBANY – The National Merit Scholarship corporation announced this year’s National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners recently, and an Albany senior made the list.
Deerfield-Windsor School senior, Shivani Yadavalli was chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 finalists in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program. National Merit $2,500 scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.
Yadavalli’s career aspirations lie in public health. In February, she was chosen to represent Dougherty County at the regional STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Recognition) Student competition. To qualify for the STAR competition, a student must have the highest score on a single test on the three-part SAT and be in the top 10% (or Top 10) of students in their graduating class based on grade-point average.
At the STAR luncheon, Yadavalli said she plans to major in Biology at a college she selects.
These Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, which appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.
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This year’s National Merit Scholarship Program began in October 2023 when high school juniors took the PSAT/NMSQT, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. Last fall, the highest-scoring participants in each state, representing less than 1% of the nation’s high school seniors, were named semifinalists on a state-representational basis. More than 16,000 semifinalists had an opportunity to continue in the competition.
From the semifinalist group, more than 15,000 students met the very high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the finals of the competition. By the conclusion of the 2025 program, more than 6,930 finalists will have earned the “Merit Scholar” title and received a total of nearly $26 million in college scholarships.
Clock the arrow to scroll through the photos.
Albany State University recognized academic excellence at its recent Honors Day program.
Every other year The Jones Center hosts a free open house, inviting the public to come learn about what goes on on the property. This Saturday, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., the public can come on the property to hear expert talks and take part in outdoor activities.
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