Meriden school fetes high HSC achievers with two off to Ivy League universities
Two top-achieving students have been accepted to Ivy League universities as Meriden school celebrates one of its most successful HSC years ever.
The Express
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Meriden Anglican School for Girls is celebrating one of its most successful HSC results, topped by two students accepted to Ivy League universities – Xinyu Rain Wei to Columbia and Daniela Zapata Rincon to Harvard.
The Strathfield school finished 14th overall in the 2019 HSC schools ranking.
Twenty per cent of students sitting the HSC were named as All-Round Achievers, having placed in the highest band in 10 or more units.
“Meriden is proud of the achievements of all its HSC students whose consistent hard work has paid off in these outstanding final results,” a school spokeswoman said.
Jessica Wenjie Qiao and Xinyu Rain Wei received the highest possible ATAR of 99.95, while 53 per cent of girls received 90 or above.
Rain will attend Columbia University. She plans to major in applied mathematics at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.
“I’m particularly interested in psychology and the statistical analysis required in that area of research,” Rain said.
“If I have the skills to process this data, I can go out and serve society.
“I’m looking forward to living and studying in New York City, it’s the most vibrant city in the world.”
Water polo star Daniela Zapata Rincon will attend Harvard University.
“At Harvard, I will undertake general classes in my first year and then I hope to tailor my studies to focus on a degree in molecular and cellular biology,” Daniela said.
Daniela said she was thrilled to train under Harvard’s highly-successful coach Ted Minnis.
“Meriden really helped me balance my academic life and sporting endeavours and I’m looking forward to doing the same at Harvard as a student-athlete,” Daniela said.
Meanwhile, tennis ace Olivia Huang – rated 173rd in Australia and seventh in NSW — will use a scholarship at Grand Valley State University, Michigan, to major in exercise science and possibly nutrition.
“I would like to combine my tennis with a career that allows me to help people and nutrition is something I really care about,” Olivia said. “I’m really excited about joining my school’s tennis team and I’m looking forward to meeting people and challenging myself in every area of my new life.”
Jiaqi Emily Xue topped the state in English as an Addition Language/Dialect. She received a mark of 90 or above in every HSC course she enrolled in.
“I made small study goals, like aiming to write one paragraph of an essay or analyse one
quote by the end of the session,“ Emily said.
She wants to follow a career as a user experience (UX) designer. and learnt English in China before the family arrived in Australia.
The school said 14 students have been nominated for HSC showcases. The other Meriden students who excelled in the state results include Tilda Stafford, Katherine Willetts, Emily Liao and Anna Jin.