The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists and 34,000 Commended Students in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The Semifinalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,930 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered in the spring.
To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95% of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
High school juniors entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Competition by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
Congratulations to our 11 Semifinalists, recognized at an Upper School Assembly on Friday, October 10, 2025:
Semifinalists
- Bella Anadkat ’26
- Zoe Dickherber ’26
- Grant (Ash) Falk ’26
- Harrison Foster ’26
- Nolan Jones ’26
- Gigi Koster ’26
- Nihaal Satwani ’26
- Clyde Siow ’26
- Celia Swiston ’26
- Hannah Wang ’26
- Ian Zar ’26
In addition, we’ll extend a hearty “well done!” to our Commended Students:
Commended
- Ava Casillas ’26
- Ellie Chen ’26
- Isabelle Cox-Garleanu ’26
- Sydney Durr ’26
- Shreyas Kota ’26
- Karthik Krishnaswamy ’26
- Shil Penilla ’26
- Rose Sabalvaro ’26
- Yash Shelar ’26