Sixteen Newton students are National Merit semifinalists

By Matt Rocheleau Globe Correspondent

Sixteen seniors from Newton high schools advanced to a national scholarship’s pool of semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, after earning some of the top scores in Massachusetts on the 2008 Preliminary SAT (PSAT), officials announced today.

Around 16,000 high school seniors nationwide, including around 350 from the Bay State, moved on to the semifinals from a group of over 1.5 million students from around 22,000 high schools that entered the 55th annual National Merit Scholarship Program by taking last year’s PSATs.

The semifinalists will now compete to become finalists for around 8,200 available scholarships, worth more than $36 million combined, that will be offered next spring.

This year’s scholarship winners will be made public in four announcements between April and July.

About 90 percent of semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and around half of the finalists will win a scholarship, said a press release from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, a non-profit established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual scholarship program.

“To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test,” said the release.

The semifinalist and a high school official must also submit a detailed scholarship application, including an essay and information about the student’s participation and leadership in school and community activities.

The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors, the release said.

Three types of scholarships awards will be offered.

All finalists will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2500 Scholarships awarded on a state representational basis.

About 1,000 corporate-sponsored scholarships will be provided by approximately 270 corporations and business organizations for finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located.

Additionally, about 200 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,700 awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.

Scholarship recipients will join more than 267,000 others who have earned the Merit Scholar title.

“The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies,” said the release. “The program does not measure the quality or effectiveness of education within a school, system, or state.”

For more information about the competition, go here.

Newton Semifinalists: 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program

Newton South:
Bercovitch, Alexander P.
Braginsky, Mika B.
Chesler, Benjamin D.
Feng, Wenqi
Flynn, Emily R.
Friedberg, Ilana S.
Li, Allen S.
Nathans, Reilly A.
Shvartsman, Ariel
Tong, Tong

Newton North:
Genuth, Naomi R.
Harris, Nathan E.
Klebanov, Nikolai
Roth, Nathaniel G.
Talishinsky, Alexander D.
Weinfeld, Michael S.

Massachusetts Semifinalists: 2010 National Merit Scholarship Program

ACTON
ACTON – BOXBOROUGH REGIONAL H. S.
Agrawal, Siddharth S.
Benjamin, Madeline V.
Chiao, Danny
Cohen, Carolyn M.
Dai, Matthew S.
Huo, Tony S.
Johnson, Isaac N. S.
Liang, Joy N.
Maserang, Ryan I.
Miao, Diana
Pantano, Mark T.
Ramachandran, Nadhika I.
Szydlo, Hannah S.
Wang, Songya O.
Yang, Bryan
York, Brian
Zhou, Mo
AMHERST
AMHERST REGIONAL H. S.
Alper, Sarah I.
Anderson, Emma R.
Holladay, Margaret C.
Kannel, Charles M.
Lee, Daniel T.
Liu, Shiyuan
Salwen, Jeremy A.
Wald, Marianne C.
Zimmerman, Chloe O.
ANDOVER
ANDOVER H. S.
Cheng, George T.
Kurinsky, Noah A.
Sant, Sharada R.
Yang, Aaron
PHILLIPS ACADEMY
Becker, Sebastian H.
Best, Ric T.
Bhaiwala, Zahra S.
Chandra, Krishnan V.
Chen, Bobby S.
Crosett, Rainer A.
Fang, Anna P.
Fedyk, Valeria
Ford, Whitney E.
Ghosh, Timothy L.
Harrington, Thomas J.
Helmers, Julie C.
Hong, Andrew
Jia, Sophia B.
Jones, Ashleigh C.
King, Lauren E.
Li, Andrew Y.
Li, Annie J.
Li, Randy X.
Liu, Jonathan
Liu, Juliet T.
McKinnon, Ryan M.
Mitchell, Laura A.
Narayan-Chen, Anjali Y.
Png, Chien Yi M.
Rhodes, Fredric D.
Romanow, Jacob A.
Saxena, Nikita T.
Thomas, Jane
ARLINGTON
ARLINGTON H. S.
Rogers, Graham L.
Strominger, Amanda B.
Vishniac, Jordan D.
ASHBURNHAM
OAKMONT REGIONAL H. S.
Dearborn, Robert F.
ATTLEBORO
BISHOP FEEHAN H. S.
Clerx, William M.
McAllister, James W.
BEDFORD
BEDFORD H. S.
McGrory, Aileen K.
HOME SCHOOL
Weber, Sophie F.
BELMONT
BELMONT H. S.
Alperin, Kenneth B.
Goodman, Paul S.
Green, Benjamin Z.
Grinberg, Leonid
Kleinbock, Elias E.
Kolenbrander, Emily S.
Miller, Thomas B.
Regier, Emily E.
Sorensen, Caroline
Tyutyunik, Maria M.
Zhang, Yuan
BELMONT HILL SCHOOL
DesBois, John E.
BOLTON
NASHOBA REGIONAL H. S.
Lindsay, Samantha G.
Squires, Samantha H.
Wassall, Zachary H.
BOSTON
BOSTON COLLEGE H. S.
Gonzalez, Robert C.
Nolan, James K.
BOSTON LATIN SCHOOL
Awal, Mehraj
Huang, Cheng
Lee, Athena E.
Naushad, Nida
Schwob, Olivia C.
Wang, Yaxi
Wu, Sherry L.
Xu, Tom
BOSTON UNIVERSITY ACADEMY
Connors, Thomas G.
Landau-Taylor, Jessica R.
Lee, Younghan D.
Meister, Michela C.
Riley, Amy E.
Silvis, George A.
COMMONWEALTH SCHOOL
Alvarez, Mario M.
Hall, Peter O.
Hickman, Sylvia B.
Moraff, Daniel E.
Rubin, Alexander M.
Sokolov, Matilda G.
Vrtilek, Julia K.
Weiss-Irwin, Russell
WINSOR SCHOOL
Batten, Caroline R.
Bridge, Amy W.
Byrne, Elizabeth H.
Conway, Alison A.
Eysenbach, Lindsay M.
Fulham, Margaret W.
Mankiw, Catherine M.
Yellen, Margaret B.
BRAINTREE
BRAINTREE H. S.
Blais, Caitlin T.
Hasson, Justine F.
BROCKTON
CARDINAL SPELLMAN H. S.
Grenon, Marissa C.
BROOKLINE
BROOKLINE H. S.
Benjamin, Ari E.
Cass, Celeste L.
Chen, Andersen Y.
Groopman, Emily E.
Kaur, Shagun
Meiklejohn, Elizabeth T.
Mendelsohn, Rose G.
VanderWerf, Kyle R.
von Krusenstiern, Alfred N.
Yasinovsky, David G.
MAIMONIDES SCHOOL
Avigan, Zachary M.
Niewood, Benjamin Z.
Rosen, Gabriel T.
BYFIELD
THE GOVERNOR'S ACADEMY
Nelson, Lyle L.
CAMBRIDGE
BUCKINGHAM BROWNE AND NICHOLS SCHOOL
Brodsky, Jessica E.
Burnett, Daniel
Burstein, Eli
Kingston, Elena R.
Mitra, Abhi R.
Mulligan, Jessica S.
Ottenheimer, David J.
Su, Karen
Wallis, Samuel M.
Wang, Elizabeth Y.
CAMBRIDGE RINDGE AND LATIN SCHOOL
Greenberg, Joseph S.
Lyons-Galante, Isaiah T.
Mardell, Samuel B.
Schear, Nessarose
Yedidia, Adam B.
PROSPECT HILL ACADEMY
Wittman, Lucas M.
CANTON
CANTON H. S.
Winchell, Ethan T.
CHARLEMONT
ACADEMY AT CHARLEMONT
Bartlett, Jeannie B.
CHESTNUT HILL
BEAVER COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL
Harrington, Nathaniel G.
Tucker, William M.
CONCORD
CONCORD – CARLISLE REGIONAL H. S.
Bolinger, Geoffrey J.
Boyajian, Benjamin S.
Clute, Madeleine R.
Cooke, Emma M.
Hwang, Kristen
Matheson, Alexander D.
Morrill, Lucas A.
Murphy, Mairead A.
Putterman, Mark
Retterer-Moore, John C.
Smith, Aletha D.
Yen, Julie C.
CONCORD ACADEMY
Abreu, Erick M.
McCue, Andrew D.
Pastuszenski, Charles B.
Weissmann, Benjamin S.
HOME SCHOOL
Ten-Hove, Elizabeth M.
MIDDLESEX SCHOOL
Hale, Tyler D.
Spector, Ethan D.
DEERFIELD
DEERFIELD ACADEMY
Bennett, Amanda J.
Cho, Kevin Y.
Gentzler, Eliza R.
Harris, Andrew J.
Marks, Morgan L.
EASTHAMPTON
WILLISTON NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL
Zombik, Christopher P.
FALMOUTH
FALMOUTH ACADEMY
Baumhofer, Clea C.
Catipovic, Marco A.
Signell, Julia E.
FALMOUTH H. S.
Hangley, Jarrod J.
FITCHBURG
FITCHBURG H. S.
Chavez, Kevin J.
FOXBOROUGH
FOXBOROUGH H. S.
Laubenstein, Taryn D.
FRAMINGHAM
FRAMINGHAM H. S.
Kruger, David M.
FRANKLIN
FRANKLIN H. S.
Burns, Connor P.
Melfi, Nicholas V.
GREENFIELD
FOUR RIVERS SCHOOL
Grogan, Tess H.
GROTON
GROTON – DUNSTABLE REGIONAL H. S.
Edwin, Esther J.
GROTON SCHOOL
Anton, Arthur A.
Bang, Jane J.
Chong, Eugene
Evans, Hilary W.
May, Julia
Zhang, Laura B.
LAWRENCE ACADEMY
Bernard, Benjamin P.
HARVARD
BROMFIELD SCHOOL
Blackwell, William S.
Devlin, MacKenzie P.
Eisenberg, Daniel J.
Turner, Rebecca A.
HAVERHILL
HAVERHILL H. S.
Tatro, Adrian M.
HINGHAM
HINGHAM H. S.
Feldman, William J.
Walters, Tobin T.
HOPEDALE
HOPEDALE H. S.
Butler, Sam C.
HUDSON
HUDSON H. S.
Shioda, Marimo
HYANNIS
BARNSTABLE H. S.
Malakhoff, Katrina D.
Mesirow, Benjamin
Robertson, James M.
STURGIS CHARTER SCHOOL
Sabella, Sean C.
IPSWICH
IPSWICH H. S.
Bouche, Adam J.
Stewart, Ian B.
KINGSTON
SACRED HEART H. S.
Reddington, Haley M.
Wisniewski, Emily
LEXINGTON
HOME SCHOOL
Schmidt-Nielsen, Erik B.
LEXINGTON CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
Desmond, Amy E.
Durning, Rachel W.
Madaus, Roman J.
LEXINGTON H. S.
Bartlett, Caroline E.
Chang, Yehna
Childress, Ian P.
Chonofsky, Mark A.
Goulet, Benjamin E.
Gurley-Green, Spencer B.
Han, Michelle H.
Joyce, Brittney P.
Lee, Jaeyoon
Lockwood, Alexander J.
Lung, Genesis
Malis, Steven M.
Meyers, Adam A.
Rao, Aashik A.
Reynolds, Justin S.
Rich, Helen E.
Silver, Maya R.
Thorburn, Lukas P.
Zhang, James N.
MANSFIELD
MANSFIELD H. S.
Rothchild, Joanna W.
MARBLEHEAD
MARBLEHEAD H. S.
Dunlavy, Adam F.
Henrich, Christiane N.
MARION
TABOR ACADEMY
O'Rourke, Zachary J.
MARLBOROUGH
MARLBOROUGH H. S.
Kotsopoulos, Olivia V.
MARSHFIELD
MARSHFIELD H. S.
Acer, James M.
Desmond, Gregory P.
MATTAPOISETT
OLD ROCHESTER REGIONAL H. S.
Smith, Jean B.
MEDFIELD
MEDFIELD H. S.
Jensen, David C.
Karg, Katherine M.
Pidcock, Savannah L.
METHUEN
FELLOWSHIP CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
Dyer, Bethany G.
MILTON
MILTON ACADEMY
Barry-Heffernan, Timothy J.
Cohen, Joshua B.
Das, Monica K.
Fishman, Eric J.
Jacob, Nicholas B.
Lee, Kristina S.
Lerner, Ross L.
O'Connor, Luke J.
Oliver, William A.
Park, Andrew H.
Schneider, Ethan K.
Shen, Jamie D.
Solfisburg, Quinn S.
Tanenbaum-Diaz, Leonardo
Vradelis, Katerina C.
MILTON H. S.
Corbett, David S.
MOUNT HERMON
NORTHFIELD MOUNT HERMON SCHOOL
Johst, Christopher
Kim, Tae-Young
NATICK
NATICK H. S.
Doyle, Matthew H.
NEEDHAM
NEEDHAM H. S.
Alpert, Katherine R.
Fooksa, Michaela S.
McQuivey, Jansen H.
Mehta, Aseem
Reisch, Zachary D.
ST. SEBASTIAN'S SCHOOL
Kingsley, Edward W.
NEWBURYPORT
NEWBURYPORT H. S.
Pyle, Dylan
NEWTON CENTER
NEWTON SOUTH H. S.
Bercovitch, Alexander P.
Braginsky, Mika B.
Chesler, Benjamin D.
Feng, Wenqi
Flynn, Emily R.
Friedberg, Ilana S.
Li, Allen S.
Nathans, Reilly A.
Shvartsman, Ariel
Tong, Tong
NEWTONVILLE
NEWTON NORTH H. S.
Genuth, Naomi R.
Harris, Nathan E.
Klebanov, Nikolai
Roth, Nathaniel G.
Talishinsky, Alexander D.
Weinfeld, Michael S.
NORTH ANDOVER
BROOKS SCHOOL
Miller, Jacob D.
NORTH ANDOVER H. S.
Thanikkal, Ajmal B.
NORTH CHELMSFORD
CHELMSFORD H. S.
Chang, Derek K.
Kersey, Geo W.
Nathwani, Nikhil J.
Straeffer, Gwendolyn M.
NORTH EASTHAM
NAUSET REGIONAL H. S.
Higgins, Tyler K.
NORTHAMPTON
NORTHAMPTON H. S.
Lello-Smith, Anna M.
McKenna-Donnell, Neal
NORTHBOROUGH
ALGONQUIN REGIONAL H. S.
Loftus, Brendan M.
Palken, Daniel A.
PITTSFIELD
PITTSFIELD H. S.
Bird, Matthew R.
READING
AUSTIN PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Tweedie, Rebecca E.
READING MEMORIAL H. S.
Collins, James C.
Pratt, Eric B.
SHARON
SHARON H. S.
Davis, Jacqueline O.
Furman, Elana L.
Kelley, Julia B.
Wang, Sherrie
Zisk, Alyssa H.
SHREWSBURY
SHREWSBURY H. S.
Mansfield, Philip E.
Moriondo, Anna M.
Sharma, Sunanda
Zhu, Hanzhi
ST. JOHN'S H. S.
Orino, Conlan J.
Powers, Daniel L.
Tang, Alexander
SOUTH HAMILTON
HAMILTON – WENHAM REGIONAL H. S.
Chang, Cong
Druschel, Henry J.
PINGREE SCHOOL
Kennelly, Julia
SOUTH WEYMOUTH
WEYMOUTH H. S.
Callahan, James M.
SPRINGFIELD
MAC DUFFIE SCHOOL
Messbauer, Ingrid E.
SUDBURY
CORWIN - RUSSELL SCHOOL
AT BROCCOLI
Mukherjee, Shinjini V.
LINCOLN – SUDBURY REGIONAL H. S.
Barnes, Alec M.
Falk, Martin J.
Kasle, Matthew R.
Stock, Christopher H.
SWAMPSCOTT
SWAMPSCOTT H. S.
Antrim, Amelia F.
Mitlin, Matthew S.
TAUNTON
COYLE - CASSIDY MEMORIAL H. S.
Wolff, Dylan L.
TEWKSBURY
TEWKSBURY MEMORIAL H. S.
Sheehy, Keegan J.
TOPSFIELD
MASCONOMET REGIONAL H. S.
Johnson, Garret M.
Morgan, Robert W.
Roth, Charlotte H.
TYNGSBORO
ACADEMY OF NOTRE DAME H. S.
Struckmann, Katarina M.
UPTON
NIPMUC REGIONAL H. S.
DeVane, Emily E.
WAKEFIELD
WAKEFIELD H. S.
Lam, Rex S.
WALTHAM
GANN ACADEMY - THE NEW JEWISH H. S. OF GREATER BOSTON
Elovitz, Jesse J.
Mangoubi, Tomer
Newberger, Joel A.
Rourke, Emily L.
WAYLAND
WAYLAND H. S.
Danesh, Alyssa H.
Dresser, Robert M.
Levitz, Talya S.
WELLESLEY
DANA HALL SCHOOL
Madigan, Victoria J.
WELLESLEY H. S.
Blenko, Sarah B.
Davids, Peter J.
Kendall, Chelsea E.
Steele, Taylor M.
Taylor, Caroline A.
Wardwell, Nathaniel T.
WEST ROXBURY
ROXBURY LATIN SCHOOL
Aquino, Rosario J.
Burke, Stephen F.
Carroll, Kenneth J.
Condakes, Matthew L.
Davis, Nathaniel C.
Joyner, Alec L.
Richards, Robert L.
Tullius, Thomas W.
Weinstein, Nathaniel J.
WESTBOROUGH
WESTBOROUGH H. S.
Liu, Anthony Y.
Moon, Sukmin
Wang, Xiao-Yu
WESTFORD
WESTFORD ACADEMY
Chan, Alice Z.
Cummins, William J.
Firoiu, Vlad
Leung, Calvin E.
Li, Yunxin
Liang, Jiashan
Tiew, Audrey
Walker, Brittany P.
Yu, Ansha
WESTON
WESTON H. S.
Chow, Lauren K.
Gannon, Sarah E.
Jimenez, Jaime L.
Power, Nike L.
Robson, Victoria K.
WESTWOOD
WESTWOOD H. S.
Huang, Sarina
WHITINSVILLE
WHITINSVILLE CHRISTIAN H. S.
Wood, Benjamin T.
WILLIAMSTOWN
MOUNT GREYLOCK
REGIONAL H. S.
Kaufman, Isabel J.
Shuker-Haines, Samuel S.
Sokolsky-Tifft, Samuel E.
WILMINGTON
WILMINGTON H. S.
Campbell, Kellyn C.
Musicant, Adele M.
WINCHESTER
WINCHESTER H. S.
Brooks, James H.
Casey, Bret W.
Dinardo, Perry B.
McCarthy, William N.
WORCESTER
DOHERTY MEMORIAL H. S.
Smith, Anna R.
MASSACHUSETTS ACADEMY OF MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE
Garg, Anant
King, Aaron D.
WRENTHAM
KING PHILIP REGIONAL H. S.
Fields, Caleb G.
Grosso, Samantha C.
Willman, Marie J.