USC students named National Merit finalists
Carter Chui
Jasmine Dietiker
Matthew Earley
Ansh Goyal
Peer Abdul-Qadir Khan
Jason Lu
Phillip Markovitz
Lauren Starr
Ben Wasson
Nine Upper St. Clair High School seniors were recently named finalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. Carter L. Chui, Jasmine F. Dietiker, Matthew O. Earley, Ansh Goyal, Peer Abdul-Qadir Khan, Jason Lu, Phillip T. Markovitz, Lauren E. Starr and Benjamin G. Wasson were selected on the basis of their SAT scores, grades, essays and letters of recommendation.
In September, the students were named semifinalists in the competition for scoring in the top 1% of all juniors completing the PSAT in October 2021.
Founded in 1955, the National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. Students enter the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the PSAT – the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test – during the fall of their junior year. The top 1% (nearly 16,000 students) qualify as semifinalists.
As finalists, the Upper St. Clair seniors are now competing for National Merit Scholarships that will be offered and announced this spring. The program awards three types of scholarships: National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, Corporate-Sponsored Merit Scholarships and College-Sponsored Merit Scholarships. Merit Scholar designees will be announced in April, May, June and July.