88 students from Philly, Pa., N.J. suburbs are 2025 National Merit Scholarship winners
See the full list of scholars from Philadelphia and the nearby Pennsylvania and New Jersey suburbs, chosen from among a pool of 15,000 finalists nationwide.
Students from schools in Philadelphia and the surrounding region have been named winners of the prestigious 2025 National Merit Scholarship.
They were chosen from among a pool of 15,000 finalists nationwide, singled out for their academic record, PSAT scores, leadership qualities, and school and community activities, and an essay and recommendation.
The honors are based on exams taken beginning in October 2023, when high school juniors sat for their PSAT exam.
Awards come with a financial prize, depending on the type of honor — scholarships funded by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. are $2,500, and corporate-funded scholarships range from $1,000 to $10,000.
The National Merit Scholarship Corp. cautions against comparing schools “on the basis of numbers of Merit Scholarship winners,” officials said in a statement Wednesday. “The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The program does not measure the quality or effectiveness of education within a school, system or state.”
The local winners, listed by where they attend school, are:
New Jersey
Bordentown: Sameer Sharma, Bordentown Regional High School
Cherry Hill: Kaiyan Ling, Cherry Hill High School East
Delran: Jamie Allison Dunn, Holy Cross Preparatory Academy
Haddonfield: Henry A. Cowan, Keira Currie, Haddonfield Memorial High School
Philadelphia
Chiara Lucia Crociata, Andre Neimark Geffen, Central High; Isaac M. Torchinsky-Field, Germantown Friends School; Ray K. Eggerts, Jason Zhang, Masterman; Theo Mitchell-Penner, St. Joseph‘s Preparatory School
Pennsylvania suburbs
Abington: Maeve Hong, Abington High School
Ambler: Katherine Chen, Vivian W. Han, Parth Patel, Jake Tan, Wissahickon High School
Berwyn: Brianna Z. Fan, Ethan Guo, Charlize Sara Ko, Aiden F. Knouft, Hanyang F. Liu, Carter M. Pugh, Zara Samdani, Adam Song, John P. Tinneny, Eric R. Xu, Michael Z. Yang, Conestoga High
Bensalem: Brendan Bittmann, Holy Ghost Preparatory High School
Bryn Mawr: Allison Meng, Summer Yao He, Avani I. Shah-Lipman, and Georgia Jane Whamond, the Baldwin School.
Downingtown: Anushka Chakraborty, Praneil Balike, Syreeta Arja Das, Ronika Himani Medagam, Downingtown STEM Academy; Rishi Aitha, Downingtown High School East; Mei L. Satler, Downingtown High School West
Doylestown: Syreeta Arja Das, James Xiaoxing Wan, Edan H. Wong, Central Bucks High School East
Fort Washington: Jianna J. Kim, Roy Zhao, Germantown Academy; Hannah Marie Adams, Isabella Xie, Upper Dublin High School
Havertown: Samuel Graaf, Maxim Omelan Markiw, Jorge Tecedor, Haverford High School
Holland: Hayden Kang, Council Rock High School South; Isabelle Glunz, Villa Joseph Marie High School
Huntingdon Valley: Tamara Kohmann, Rebecca A. Ling, Lower Moreland High School
Kennett Square: Deepti Halthore, Gareth Y. Liu, Anand Shah, Alan H. Yu, Unionville High School
King of Prussia: Jenna Ronnie Xue, Upper Merion Area High School
Langhorne: Orest Mykhaylyuk, Neshaminy High School
Lansdale: Jason Gentet Dodge, Julia Knoblauch, Advaith Kollipara, North Penn High School
Lower Gwynedd: Lauren Elizabeth Ryan, Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School
Media: James C. Mulholland, Penncrest High School
New Hope: Maria Kesisoglou, New Hope-Solebury High School
Newtown: Alex Zeyu Tao, Council Rock High School North
Newtown Square: Rohan Dalal, Episcopal Academy
Pottstown: Jonathan C. Odike, the Hill School
Plymouth Meeting: Ronald L. Keene, Koseli Thakali, Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School
Rosemont: Sarthak Chaudhuri, Jayne Chen, Roha Herial, Philippos Pratsos, William Reisner, Eileen Rong, Harriton High School
Royersford: Mahitha Nirmala Nakkella, Chakradhar Pulipaka, Gina Singh, Spring-Ford High School; Randall J. Petras Jr., Pope John Paul II High School
Wallingford: Tanush Kiran Talekar, Strath Haven High School
Warminster: Anne M. Pallozzi, William Tennent High School
Warrington: Ayooluwa Joshua Popoola, Shreyas Trivedi, Central Bucks High School South
West Chester: Neela M. Bender, B. Reed Henderson High School; Jada Cooper, Sophia Z. Fu, West Chester East High School
Wynnewood: Milan Carpiniello, Andrew Yu, Friends Central School