Ward Melville Students Enroll in Science Honors Program

Ward Melville High School junior Roshan Patel, sophomore Kavya Tangella and senior Yongqi Zhu are getting the experience of a lifetime as they participate in the Columbia University Science Honors Program.

Accepted to the coveted enrichment program earlier this year, which only accepted 380 students from the pool of more than 1,800 candidates, the students have been enrolled in one course per semester in the various science departments. For the first semester Roshan completed a computer science program, Kavya a genetics and biodiversity conservation course and Yongqui completed a biochemistry program. The students will be afforded the chance to enroll in future courses throughout their high school careers.

The students applied for the SHP through a qualifying exam, which tested their knowledge on higher-level mathematics and science topics. According to the program, the average applicant who won admissions to the SHP did better than 98 percent of a national sample of college freshman that took the same test in science and mathematics.

Photo courtesy of the Three Village Central School District: Ward Melville High School junior Roshan Patel, senior Yongqi Zhu and sophomore Kavya Tangella.