• Aug. 1, 2018

    129 USC students named AP Scholars

    College Board logo The College Board recently announced that 129 Upper St. Clair High School students earned the designation of AP Scholar – including nine National AP Scholars. These students earned recognition for their exceptional achievement in the college-level Advanced Placement Program in 2018.

    “Our students are to be commended for their high academic performance in what is widely considered the most challenging curriculum offered to high school students,” Dr. Louis Angelo, Upper St. Clair High School principal, said.

    In May 2018, 346 Upper St. Clair students completed 696 AP exams in 22 subjects – earning a 90 percent pass rate. AP tests are scored 1-5; students must earn a 3 or higher to pass and possibly qualify for college credit. (Colleges and universities have independent policies regarding awarding credits for AP courses.)

    Nine students were named National AP Scholars as well as an AP Scholars with Distinction for earning an average grade of at least 4 on all AP exams taken, and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more exams. 2018 graduates Kevin Chen, Steven Cheung, Ariana Chiu, Nadith Dharmasena, Sahil Doshi, John Gordley, Jagadeesh Gummadi, Aritro Nandi and Abigail Wagner were recognized for this achievement – the highest honor offered by the College Board.

    Thirty-seven additional students were recognized as AP Scholars with Distinction. To qualify, students must earn an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. The list of honorees includes 2018 graduates Jonah Auslander, Lily Bonasso, John Cappetta, Caitlin Cassidy, John De La Parra, Meredith Engel, David Frauen, Michael Gallagher, Ross Gibson, Jonah Glunt, Isaac Goodman, Kyrie Graham, Minori Hayakawa, Matthew Higgs, Andrew Hobart, Michael Hrehocik, Meghan Johnson, Wyatt Keating, Kevin Kwok, Jacob Lantzman, Austin Li, Dennis Li, Spencer Miller, Zachary Miller, Reis Milone, Emily Molitoris, Nicholas Ravasio, Andrew Rocks, Harshini Sakthivel, Kriti Shah, Mary Wilding and James Wilkinson; as well as seniors Eshita Chhajlani, Samuel Ding, Shalmalee Joshi, Arushi Khaitan and Serena Luo.

    Thirty-four Upper St. Clair students earned recognition as AP Scholars with Honor by earning an average score of 3.25 or higher on all AP Exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. Upper St. Clair’s AP Scholars with Honor include 2018 graduates Taim Aizooky, Mia Beyerl, Grace Blumenfeld, James Boston, Alexander Cohen, Alexander Gasper Akshar Golakiya, Anna Groninger, Kathryn Hall, Anvi Kumar, Parachi Masown, Madelyn McConaghy, Hannah Pribanic, Rebecca Quinn, Daniel Speer, Elizabeth Walsh, Matthew White and Cassandra Whyte; seniors John Beggy, Samuel Burt, Justin Dreyer, Hashim Durrani, Miles Friedman, Meghan Joon, Dina Leyzarovich, Jacob Musser, Ritik Parmas, Shivam Patel, Hridhay Reddy, Tushar Roy, Paarth Shankar and Yingqi Tao, as well as juniors Katherine Hobart and Alex Lampe.

    Forty-nine Upper St. Clair students earned the distinction of AP Scholar by earning scores of 3 or higher on three or more exams. AP Scholars include 2018 graduates Emma Artnak, Taylor Bartusiak, Samuel Cancilla, Johanna Chikuni, Alyssa Cuddy, Michael Daley, Thejaswi Duvvuru, Mary Engel, Brendan Fortunato, Jack Giba, John Hansberry; Nathan Johnsen, Alexandra Khani, James Khor, Thomas Kyle, Laura Lapham, Caroline LeKachman, Alexander Majkic, Melanie Mantel, Joshua Meyer, Nicholas Mologne, Krisha Monpara, Brandon Novak, Elizabeth Petley, Rayna Recht, Abigail Riemer, Amanda Ross, Savannah Shaw, Daniel Spilsbury, John Steve, Logan Szajnecki and Ava White; seniors Anber Bhuiyan, Benjamin Burlovic, Brooke Christiansen, Mia Collis, Veronica Gibbons, Caroline Hendrix, Christopher Hess, Matthew McCormick, Brendan Neal, Neha Patel, Taylor Quinn, Vikram Reddy, Ethan Rutowski, Olivia Schlichting, Ayush Sharma and Grace Wagner; as well as junior Braden Yates.

    The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program offers students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school, and to receive college credit, advanced placement, or both for successful performance on AP Exams. Upper St. Clair High School currently offers 23 AP courses including AP English Language and Composition; AP English Literature and Composition; AP World History; AP U.S. History; AP Comparative Government & Politics; AP U.S. Government & Politics; AP Macroeconomics; AP Microeconomics; AP Psychology; AP Calculus AB; AP Calculus BC; AP Statistics; AP Biology; AP Chemistry; AP Environmental Science; AP Physics 1; AP Physics C: Mechanics; AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism; AP French Language; AP German Language; AP Spanish Language; AP Music Theory; and AP Computer Science A.

    According to the College Board, AP students are more likely than their peers to complete college within four years and students who take AP exams say it makes them feel more confident and prepared for college.