Seniors Oscar Jin, a boarding student from Shanghai, China, and Aiden Parsa, a day student from Rome, are among the 16,000 students nationwide to be named semifinalists in the 69th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $28 million that will be offered next spring.
“Oscar and Aiden are outstanding members of the Darlington Community, and we are extremely proud of their accomplishments,” said Ivy Brewer, Darlington’s dean of college guidance. “It is quite an honor to earn semifinalist status in the National Merit Program, and we wish Oscar and Aiden the best of luck as they compete for scholarship awards this spring.”
Jin, who has taken two Honors and 11 AP courses at Darlington, has competed on the cross country, robotics, and math teams, and is a member of the Chess Club. He recently attended the Stanford University Mathematics Camp and has received E.L. Wright Awards for the highest average in AP English Language, AP Statistics, AP Calculus BC, AP Biology, Pre Calculus Honors, AP Computer Science, and AP Chemistry. He is the son of Rong Jin of Shanghai, China.
Parsa has taken eight Honors and 12 AP courses at Darlington. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Quill and Scroll Honor Society and the varsity cross country and tennis teams. Parsa serves as head day prefect of Summerbell House, editor in chief of the Jabberwokk yearbook, president of the DarTech Team and is a class representative on the Student Council. He is the son of Suzanne and Dr. Cyrus Parsa of Rome.
Close to 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the title of Merit Scholar. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethinic origin, or religious preference.
National Merit Scholarship winners of 2024 will be announced beginning in April. These scholarships will join more than 375,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.
