the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, on September 15, 2021, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the Semifinalists in the 67th annual National Merit® Scholarship Program. Two Ridgewood High School students, Krisha Anant and Lydia Hyunsuh Han, were named among the 16,000 Semifinalists, the highest-scoring entrants in each state representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. These students demonstrated exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. To advance to the Finalist level, Semifinalists must provide additional information including academic record, school and community activities, leadership, employment, and honors/awards.
In addition to the two Semifinalists, thirty-two students from Ridgewood High School were designated as Commended Students. Students honored include Eric Baw, Christopher Chang, Thomas Cheng, Samuel Crosly, Aiden Dartley, Rhea Desai, Arosh De Silva, Gwendolyn Flusche, Karis Han, Annabelle He, Annalise Hofman, Neri Jung, Austin Kim, Ludia Kim, Zachary Kim, Matthew Kotchkin, Hyejin Lee, Seungrok Lee, Jacob Liu, Leandros Manwaring, Paul Nasr, Kalyan Patel, Marcus Phillips, Hari Rajesh, Asad Raza, Alanna Sherman, Joseph Shevak, Theodore Stephens, Anisha Tehim, Mikael Nakamura Vernet, and Bulent Yesilyurt. Recognized for their exceptional academic promise, Commended Students receive a Letter of Commendation from Ridgewood High School and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, and they may be candidates for special scholarships offered by corporate sponsors.
Two is too few.
The cutoff for National Merit Semifinalist is the top one half of the top one percent.
One half of one percent of a graduating class of, say, 400, is two.
Ridgewood High School used to pump out NM Semifinalists at a faster clip. What has become of the place?