17 Fremont Students Awarded $2500 National Merit Scholarships

FREMONT, CA — 17 Fremont students have been awarded $2500 National Merit Scholarships, as the organization behind the scholarships announced a new round of 2024 winners on Wednesday.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced that 2,500 high school seniors nationwide will receive the scholarships, chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 finalists.

"National Merit $2500 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 organization announced. "The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors."

They were chosen by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors who poured over information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools.

RELATED: Fremont National Merit Scholarships: 2024 Corporate-Sponsored Awards

Here is a full list of $2,500 Fremont scholarship winners.

• Ananya Aggrawal, Fremont resident who arrends Notre Dame High School in San Jose. Probable career field: Computer Science
• Jahsh Arshad, American High School. Probable career field: Entrepreneurship
• Akhilesh Basetty, Mission San Jose High School. Probable career field: Computer Science
• Christopher H. Chen, Basis Independent Fremont. Probable career field: Physics
• Shirley S. Fan, Basis Independent Fremont. Probable career field: Finance
• Anjali Garg, Irvington High School. Probable career field: Economics
• Akshaj Gupta, Irvington High School. Probable career field: Engineering
• Ronit Kapoor, Washington High School. Probable career field: Computer Science
• Revant Kasichainula, Basis Independent Fremont. Probable career field: Economics
• Vedesh R. Kodnani, Mission San Jose High School. Probable career field: International Relations
• Candra Kou, Mission San Jose High School. Probable career field: Computer Science
• Surya S. Krishnapillai, Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose. Probable career field: Mathematics
• Gokulanath Mahesh Kumar, Mission San Jose High School. Probable career field: Neurosurgery
• Sophie Menon, Mission San Jose High School. Probable career field: Biology
• Aidan J. Peter, Basis Independent Fremont. Probable career field: Design
• Saranya Singh, Mission San Jose High School. Probable career field: Computer Science
• Aadrij Upadya, Mission San Jose High School. Probable career field: Computer Science

This is the second announcement of winners in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program. On April 24, about 770 recipients of corporate-sponsored scholarship awards were named including four Fremont students. On June 5 and July 15, some 3,600 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners will be announced.

All told, more than 6,870 high school seniors will receive National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $26 million.

Students may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university.

This journey began in October 2022 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 one percent of the nation’s high school seniors, were named Semifinalists on a state-representational basis.

From the Semifinalist group, over 15,000 students met the very high academic standards and other requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition.

The majority of scholarships offered each year are underwritten by approximately 320 independent corporate and college sponsors.

Also See:

• Audrey Is A 'Dynamic, Caring, And Dedicated' Fremont Student
• Pedestrian Killed By Suspected Drunk Driver; Suspect Arrested: Police
• 2 People Displaced By Fremont Fire