NRHS Student Becomes Semifinalist in National Merit Scholarship Program

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Wendy Yu, a junior at New Rochelle High School, has been named a semifinalist in the highly competitive National Merit Scholarship Program.

Approximately 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools across America entered the program by taking the 2015 Preliminary SAR/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Only 1,600 students, including Yu, made the pool of semifinalists, representing less than 1 percent of high school seniors who took the test.

“It is a wonderful feeling to have my hard work throughout high school pay off, and of course I am extremely grateful to my teachers for teaching me everything that has made it possible for me to attain the position of semifinalist,” said Yu. “After high school, I plan on majoring in the biomedical sciences, where I will work diligently to expand horizons in medicine and hopefully improve overall health. There is so much to be done and discovered in the rest of this century, and I hope my academic curiosity will allow me to take part in these new discoveries.”

To become a finalist, Yu and New Rochelle High School must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about Wu’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.

A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.