Nine Klein ISD students named National Merit Finalists

Nine Klein Independent School District high school seniors earn have joined an elite group: the 2012 National Merit Finalists.

Each year, more than 1.4 million high school students take the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, also known as the PSAT, to prepare for the SAT. The test also determines eligibility for more than $34 million in National Merit Scholarships.

On Sept. 14, approximately 15,000 national semifinalists were named.

From this group, the National Merit Finalists were selected as the ones who had an outstanding academic record, who were endorsed by their principal, who earned high SAT scores, who demonstrated community involvement, and who completed a detailed scholarship application (which included an essay).

The 2012 Klein ISD National Merit Finalists are Diego Guala, Mallory Kohut and Chuchu Ma (Klein Collins High School); Sooraj Bhakthavachalam, Nathan McCammon, Brandon Newman and Pooja Srikanth (Klein High School); and Akil Chittaluru and Alexandra Summers (Klein Oak High School).