Originally published on 9/27/19
One member of the Alvin ISD Class of 2020 was named a semifinalist in the 65th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Rowan Ostrowicki, a Shadow Creek High School senior, has the opportunity to continue in the competition for 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million that will be offered next spring.
The nationwide pool of 16,000 semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state on the 2018 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). More than 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to achieve finalist standing, and about half of finalists will win National Merit Scholarships.
To become a finalist, the semifinalist must submit a detailed scholarship application, have an outstanding academic record, be recommended by a school official, write an essay and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the qualifying test performance. Finalists will be announced in February 2020, and National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced from April through July 2020.
In addition, 13 Alvin ISD seniors were named Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship program in recognition of their exceptional academic promise. Commended Students represent the remaining 34,000 of the 50,000 highest scorers on the 2018 PSAT/NMSQT, after the semifinalists. Although Commended Students do not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, some become candidates for special scholarships sponsored by corporations. Alvin ISD’s Commended Students are:
Khari-Alexis Bing - Manvel High School
Alexander Cessna – Shadow Creek HS
Divyaa Cherian – Shadow Creek HS
Sajan Dayal – Shadow Creek HS
Ami Dongchau – Shadow Creek HS
Terreance Ellis – Shadow Creek HS
Melinda He – Shadow Creek HS
Jenn Landicho – Shadow Creek HS
Carson Parker – Shadow Creek HS
Christopher Pham – Shadow Creek HS
Elizabeth Ren – Shadow Creek HS
Nikita Singh – Shadow Creek HS
Preksha Vaghela – Shadow Creek HS