Aliso Niguel Student Awarded National Merit Scholarship

Twenty-one Orange County high school students have been added to the list of National Merit Scholars, bringing to 1105 the total number of Orange County honorees named to this year’s National Merit Scholarship Corp’s elite recognition program.

Among those students is Alexandra L. Mardock of Aliso Niguel High School. The Laguna Hills resident aced her Preliminary SAT exam and will receive a scholarship ranging from $500 to $2,000 annually. Mardock plans to major in medicine at Rice University.

Mardock joins Aliso Niguel’s Charles Hsin-Chi Leo, who was named a National Merit Scholar in early May. The Laguna Niguel resident plans to major in bioengineering.

Both are part of a group of 0.5 percent of test takers nationwide who received scholarships from the program.

To qualify for the competition, students were required to score a minimum of 221 out of 240 on their PSAT as juniors. In Orange County, 270 students met the criteria and were named National Merit semifinalists in September.

Click here to view the full list of 105 National Merit Scholars from Orange County this year.