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National Merit Announces Semifinalist and Commended Students from BHHS/IA

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National Merit Announces Semifinalist and Commended Students from BHHS/IA
National Merit Announces Semifinalist and Commended Students from BHHS/IA

Bloomfield Hills Schools has 23 high school seniors from Bloomfield Hills High School and the International Academy who have received the highest honors from the National Merit Scholarship Program. These students are among the top 50,000 scoring on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test which is taken by millions of students each year.  

Those who were named Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program are among the top 16,000 students from across the nation and will be competing for $28 million in scholarships. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The students who qualified as Commended represent the top 2-4 percent of those who took the exam.

The National Merit Semifinalists, all in grade 12, are:

  • Alexandria Balde (BHHS)
  • Hayden Buckfire (BHHS)
  • Vijay Daita (BHHS)
  • Tanay Dakarapu (IA)
  • Alexander Hiott (BHHS)
  • Jacob Hirsch (BHHS)
  • Aadit Jain (IA)
  • Minglu Jiang (BHHS)
  • Nikhil Kothari (IA)
  • Natalie Tsimhoni (BHHS)
  • Eleanor Tupper (BHHS)
  • William Zhong (BHHS)
  • Diya Ramesh (IA)

The National Merit Commended Students, all in grade 12, are:

  • Elijah Cook (BHHS)
  • Bowie Cooper (BHHS)
  • Jennifer Guan (BHHS)
  • Zayd Humayun (BHHS)
  • Henry Jackson (BHHS)
  • Gabriella Kallabat (BHHS)
  • Lauren Kupelian (BHHS)
  • John McCalmont (BHHS)
  • Layanne Obeid (BHHS)
  • Anne Weaver (BHHS)

 The Semifinalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.