2 Greater Atlanta Christian students named National Merit Scholar semifinalists

ATLANTA - Two Greater Atlanta Christian School seniors are in the running for one of the country's most prestigious academic scholarships.

More than a million students are eligible to become National Merit Scholars but only 3% will receive the award.

Senior Guan Han "Kevin" Liu said he's studied for college entrance exams for years.

But the one thing he'd tell his younger self has nothing to do with school.

"You did not grow taller," he joked.

Akhil Sarikonda fences and loves a good friendly wager.

"I'm competing for (valedictorian). It's not really a competition, it's just my best friend," Sarikonda said. "We're just having fun with it."

These two top students both have GPAs well over 4.0 and are two of thousands of students across the country hoping to become National Merit Scholars.

"They're competing for over 7,000 scholarships. And the scholarships total like $28 million. So they're competing for huge sums of money to assist them in going to college," Assistant Principal Jimmy Chupp said.

Essentially the top PSAT scorers in the country are eligible. According to Spark Admissions, your chances of becoming a National Merit Semifinalist improve by scoring four to five points above the average cutoff score for your state.

Liu and Sarikonda credit their hard work and their school community with their success.

"I have so many teachers that I feel so open to talk to even with outside of school stuff with personal," Liu said.

"I'm part of GAC's academic team too, and I love everybody on the team," Sarikonda said. "I'm leaving practice with tears out of my eyes every day."

But the through line from both of their academic advice? Consistency and finding a way to fall in love with what you learn.

Liu hopes to go to Georgia Tech. Sarikonda has his sights set on the University of Pennsylvania

Scholars will get notified between next March and June, but no matter what the scholarship outcome, there's no doubt that Liu and Sarikonda's futures seem nothing but bright.