WHEELING — Thirty Linsly students, including 20 from the graduated Class of 2020, nine from the current senior class, and one from the current junior class, have earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program Exams.

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program enables willing and academically prepared students to pursue college-level studies – with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement or both – while still in high school.

Through AP courses in 34 subjects, each culminating in a rigorous exam, students learn to think critically, construct solid arguments, and see many sides of an issue – skills that prepare them for college and beyond.

Students took AP Exams in May after completing challenging college-level courses at their high schools. The College Board recognizes several levels of achievement based on student’s performance on AP exams.

One Linsly student, current senior Sicheng Fu, received the distinction of National AP Scholar, granted to students who receive an average score of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.

Eleven Linsly students qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. These students, from the graduated Class of 2020 are Jiaxuan Hu, attending Emory University; Erin McChesney, attending Tufts University; Kylie Pell, attending West Virginia University; Eve Ridenhour, attending University of Richmond; Ziyi Yang, attending Boston University; Ruochen Zhao, attending Georgetown University; and Jinyi Zhu, attending University of California, San Diego. Annabelle Blosser, Sicheng Fu, Kaichen Jin and XiCheng Liu from the current senior Class of 2021 also received this distinction.

Four Linsly students qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams. These students, from the graduated Class of 2020 are Alexandria Behm, attending Allegheny College; Kunyang Li, attending the University of Washington, Seattle; and John Rose, attending West Virginia Wesleyan College. Yining Zhu from the current senior Class of 2021 also earned this distinction.

Fifteen Linsly students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Examinations with grades of 3 or higher. Students from the graduated Class of 2020 receiving this distinction are Michael Borkoski, attending West Virginia University; Madison Campsey, attending Pennsylvania State University; Mirissa Garchar, attending West Virginia University; Carissa Hennen, attending The University of Akron Main Campus, Lindsay Lenz, attending Marietta College; Tyler Patt, attending American University; Faith Paull, attending High Point University; Hunter Smith, attending University of Kentucky; James Marshall Taylor, attending Centre College; Jiaxin Yang, attending University of California, San Diego; The students receiving this honor from the current Class of 2021 are Haohua Li, Yiping Yuan, Chengobo Zhang, and Yonglie Zhang. One student, Liaoyuan Han, from the Class of 2022 who took the exam as a sophomore was also named an AP Scholar.

Of this year’s award recipients at Linsly, nine were juniors at the time of the AP examinations and will have at least one more year in which to complete college-level work and possibly earn another AP Scholar Award. At Linsly, students have the opportunity to take AP courses in 13 different areas.