The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced that six Lake Washington School District students will receive National Merit $2500 Scholarships: Audrey Hsu, Juanita High School; Sam Schwabacher, Juanita High School; Suejean Hwangpo, Lake Washington High School; Maya Balakrishnan, Redmond High School; Tara Balakrishnan, Redmond High School; Jihoon Lee, Redmond High School.

These six students are part of the 2,500 distinguished high school seniors nationwide to win this scholarship. They were selected from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program.

National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

A committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors selected these students as scholarship winners. These scholars may use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or universities.