• Sept. 10, 2019

    139 USC students named AP Scholars

    College Board The College Board recently announced that 139 Upper St. Clair High School students earned the designation of AP Scholar – including seven National AP Scholars. These students earned recognition for their exceptional achievement in the college-level Advanced Placement Program in 2019.

    “Celebrating 139 students' intellectual curiosity and personal growth is an honor,” Dr. Timothy Wagner, Upper St. Clair High School principal, said. “Our students' recognition as AP Scholars is another way that learners' efforts and our teachers' instructional delivery align for success.”

    In May 2019, 344 Upper St. Clair students completed 703 AP exams in 23 subjects – earning an 89 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.)

    Seven 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. 2019 graduates Benjamin Burlovic; Eshita Chhajlani; Samuel Ding; Miles Friedman; Arushi Khaitan; Serena Luo; and Yingqi Tao were recognized for this achievement – the highest honor offered by the College Board.

    Forty-nine 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 2019 graduates John N. Beggy; Reese A. Benonis; Daniel N. Berlin; Anber R. Bhuiyan; Chance M. Cahn; Brooke G. Christiansen; Connor M. Damon; Nicholas E. Devlin; Justin T. Dreyer; Mattigan J. Fultineer; Veronica A. Gibbons; Christopher B. Hess; Meghan Joon; Shalmalee R. Joshi; Shashank Kokkula; Jordan B. Levy; Dina T. Leyzarovich; Jonah Manalo; Matthew R. McCormick; Caroline M. McDonough; Dylan H. Mira; Quinn J. Murray; Brendan L. Neal; Anh-Duy D. Nguyen; Ritik N. Parmar; Neha K. Patel; Taylor R. Quinn; Vikram Reddy; Tushar K. Roy; Connor P. Ryan; Paarth Shankar; Ayush Sharma; Rebecca A. Speer; Sai Sriram; Grace A. Wagner; Katelyn R. Weber; and Lauren Wholey; seniors Vivek J. Babu; Claire L. Chen; Jason Choi; Logan D. Gaussa; Eri Hayakawa; Katherine R. Hobart; Nisarg A. Kalra; Vivian D. Li; Soudip Sen; J. Brandon Walker; and Braden R. Yates; as well as junior Richard A. Carlson.

    Thirty 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 2019 graduates Mia A. Collis; Mitchell J. DeCock; Scotlynne M. Fennell; Gabriella Ferenchik; Caroline C. Hendrix; Katherine E. King; Mary Lydia A. Lucas; Mallika Matharu; Margaret S. McClintock; Robert T. O’Brien; Christopher D. Pantelis; Austin M. Reardon; Dustin S. Riberi; Helen C. Ritter; Ethan D. Rutowski; Olivia M. Schlichting; and Aochen Zhang; seniors Devan S. Ekbote; Aidan Gordley; Aaron T. Hall; Benjamin T. Hrehocik; Mathena A. Jencka; Aaron Mehta; Anusha Neupane; Benjamin M. Pribanic; Aleksa Rodic; Zachary J. Smith; and Chand N. Vadalia; as well as juniors Harrison L. Chui and Richa N. Mahajan.

    Fifty-three 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 2019 graduates Ynyra T. Bohan; Anna E. Busalacchi; Anthony J. Cancilla; Mayka J. Chaves; Cara Chiocca; Sara A. Cortese; Makarios F. Dickos; Anne E. Ferry; Calli L. Folino; Emily Gallagher; Evan D. Heilman; Halle G. Hewitt; Elizabeth C. Jacobs; Claire E. Kohler; Samantha G. Koller; Graham R. Kretschmar; Devon J. Lang; Shaunak N. Lavande; Jacqueline R. LeKachman; Claire A. Leonard; Gabrielle R. Martin; Evan N. McClelland; Lindsay M. Moskal; Jacob Musser; Nitesh Nagpal; Ross A. Petrone; Joseph R. Pulit; Catherine J. Rainone; Hridhay Reddy; Gabriel I. Riberi; Shaayan Saeed; Keegan M. Schicke; Madison E. Suter; Jason P. Sweeney; and Christopher J. Travers; seniors Sarah Besser; Julia C. Brubach; Matthew S. Hornak; Suemin Lee; James P. Metzger; Benjamin H. Nelson; Dev M. Patel; Alexander O. Shaw; Anika Sinha; Jamison E. Stout; Juliana E. Tarcson; Ashwini S. Walavalkar; and Emmeline G. Wetzel; as well as juniors Atharva A. Barve; Christian G. Chiu; Katherine K. Li; John D. Mologne; and Jack R. Myers.

    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.