3 Lansdale Area HS Students Named National Merit Scholars

LANSDALE, PA — Three Lansdale area high school students are among the nation's elite after being chosen as winners of a National Merit Scholarship.

A total of 2,500 scholars were chosen from 15,000 finalists to win the prestigious award. Each scholar will receive a $2,500 scholarship.

The winning students from the Lansdale area, with their probable career field listed, include:

• Jianna J. Kim, Lansdale, Germantown Academy, nueroscience
• Advaith Kollipara, Lansdale, North Penn H.S., biomedical engineering
• Julia Knoblauch, North Wales, North Penn H.S., nuclear engineering

The 15,000 finalists were whittled down from more than a million high school juniors who took the PSAT.

Corporate sponsored National Merit Scholarship were announced in April. These scholarships announced this week are funded by the National Merit Scholar Corporation itself. The final two rounds of the National Merit competition, the college-sponsored scholarships, will be announced in June and July.

Winners are selected based on "accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies," the corporation says. Academically, this is chiefly judged by standardized test scores on PSAT, as well as grades in school classes. Outside of the classroom, judges look at an essay written by the finalist, a letter of recommendation by a high school official, and various contributions to the school and community.