A Manhattan Beach 8th grader is one of only 27 students in the country to be named as a Caroline D. Bradley Scholar, with the scholarship winners receiving full tuition to a private high school and a lifelong mentoring network.

Marin Lohner, a 13 year-old from Manhattan Beach, went through a rigorous application, standardized testing, and interview process before winning the scholarship, according to her mother, Thuy Le.

Lohner currently attends Elon Musk's Astra Nova (formerly Ad Astra) school and Stanford Online High School. Her favorite subjects are math and chemistry, and she is currently taking AP Calculus. She is also on the Mammoth Ski Team and Beach Cities Swim Team as well as Junior Guards.

For now, she is looking at different options for high schools, and will make a final decision by spring 2023.

The Bradley Scholars were selected from nationwide pool of accomplished young people who will be entering high school in the fall of 2023.

The four-year, merit-based high school scholarship, awarded through the Institute for Educational Advancement, can be used nationally toward any high school or approved alternative educational program that best fits the scholar’s individual intellectual, academic, and personal needs and goals.

The scholars receive personalized educational counseling to support them through the high school selection and application process, their high school careers, and the college application process. They connect with other scholars through a mentoring network that extends through high school and beyond.

“We are extremely honored to have had the opportunity to impact the lives of well over four hundred promising young people through the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship,“ said Elizabeth Jones, president and co-Founder of the Institute for Educational Advancement, in a statement. “These students exhibit great intellectual and creative potential, and we look forward to nurturing them as they advance through their high school years and beyond.”

Students apply for the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship in the seventh grade and are required to complete a rigorous portfolio application process, which includes essays, middle school transcripts, letters of recommendation, and a work sample. Eligible applicants must also achieve scores at the highest level on nationally normed standardized tests.

The three scholarship selection committees are comprised of a diverse group of nationwide high school and university admissions directors, teachers and administrators, alumni scholars, community members, and business leaders. The selection process takes place over the course of several months, wherein the committee reviews applications and interviews candidates.

The program, which began in 2002 and is funded by The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, is one of the few merit-based, need-blind scholarships of its kind in the United States.

The IEA has awarded more than 350 scholarships to date. Currently, there are 225 alumni, 125 of whom have graduated from college and are in the work force, attending graduate school, or participating in international service and fellowship programs.

The application for the next class of Caroline D. Bradley Scholars will be opening soon.