CVHS senior wins coveted scholarship

Given to only 2,500 high school students across the US annually, the National Merit Scholarship is a highly coveted prize among those who take PSATs. Castro Valley High’s senior Alex Bau was recently awarded this prestigious $2,500 scholarship to invest towards college.

“I was selected as a semifinalist because of my PSAT scores. I then had to write an essay and submit my extracurricular and grades. Then, I was chosen as one of 15,000 students to be a finalist where I was finally notified I won the scholarship,” Bau said.

Bau plans to use this scholarship towards Davidson College, a small liberal arts school in North Carolina, where he plans to attend this coming fall. Although he doesn’t know what his plans exactly are for the future, Bau hopes “to go into the social sciences.”

As for kids who are also taking the PSATs in the near future, Bau advises them to start as early as possible in order to be fully prepared. Although he acknowledges that tests scores are a factor in college applications, Bau wants all students “to find what your passions are and pursue them. Do activities that you love and enjoy doing instead of worrying about what will get you into college.”