National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced eight Indian-American Semifinalists students from Nevada in the 63rd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Six of the students are currently attending public schools in Las Vegas, while the other two are from Reno area attending The Davidson Academy of Nevada.

The 2018 National Merit Scholarship recipients are…

Jay Desai, Anish Devati and Rathna Reddy are currently attending Edward W. Clark High School, Las Vegas. 

Apoorva Chauhan is a student at the Northwest Career and Technical Academy. 

Shaan Nagy is attending Palo Verde High School. 

Abhishek Soni is currently enrolled at the West Career and Technical Academy. 

Pranit Nanda and Aman Patel are currently attending the Davidson Academy of Nevada, Reno.

These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next spring. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists, will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.

About 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.

To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and his or her high school must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.