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GPS Student Named National Merit Program Semifinalist

Komal Patri earns coveted distinction among high school students.
While most Chattanooga-area National Merit Semifinalists received the news about their honor and celebrated with their high school classmates, Komal Patri was already attending her university classes on the West Coast. 

Komal announced to her GPS family last April that she had been accepted into the prestigious Resident’s Honors Program (RHP) at the University of Southern California (USC).  

RHP is a highly selective program that encourages exceptional high school juniors to apply for early entrance, bypassing their senior year of high school. According to USC, the program accepts students who have the social and emotional maturity to function independently as college freshmen. Interested students should have a record of success in high school such as honors, AP, and IB courses in addition to summer programs, leadership experience, and special talents.

Komal initially began the process as a means to practice the college application process, which would come the fall of her senior year and is what her former classmates are experiencing now. However, as she began to research the opportunity, Komal became more enamored with all the program had to offer. Ultimately she applied, was accepted, and is now attending after completing the requirements for high school graduation over the summer.

Although Komal says she will miss participating in the ceremonial aspects and honors of being a GPS senior—giving her Chapel Talk, May Day, and Commencement—she is still a member of the GPS Class of 2020 and we wish her continued success in her academics and in life.
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