Fourteen Poly seniors have been named National Merit Semifinalists, ranking among the top 1% of U.S. students for academic excellence. California produced 2,124 semifinalists out of roughly 16,000 nationwide, making Poly’s share a remarkable 0.65% of the state total.

Semifinalists include seniors Joseph Benitez, Clive Burt, Evan Chen, Ginny Cheung, August Cho, Alexander Chui, Madeleine Delbridge, Ellery Engstrom, Filiz Fish, Daniel Ismagilov, Brandon Shin, Akhil Venuturupalli, Allison Zhang, and Michael Zhang. Finalists will be named in the spring of 2026 and will be eligible for more than $28 million in scholarships.

This group of 14 students represents the highest number of National Merit Semifinalists Poly has had in recent years, with 16% of the senior class earning this distinction. Poly students also made up the majority of semifinalists in Pasadena, accounting for 56% of the city’s 25 honorees.