Local Students Among Semifinalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program – River Journal Online
Officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of more than 16,000 semifinalists in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,930 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition.
Local semifinalists include:
Briarcliff High School
Emily Andersen
Meera Desawale
Michael Orlin
Noah J. Rinke
Ava Wu
Croton Harmon High School
Gabrielle Stok
Irvington High School
Joshua Greenbarg
Madeleine Okun
The Masters School
Logan Dundas
Eileen Kang
Thomas McCallum
James Milward
Alex Pinnock
Lucy Vargas
Sleepy Hollow High School
Emmeline Zuba
Lakekand High School
Sean N. Kowatch
Justine J. Tang
Hackley School
Isaac Ahn
Yihan Deng
Sophie Huang
Mason Lee
Nikhil Shah
Elan Suttiratana
Juno Yang
Yorktown High School
Akhil S. Bollimpalli, Akhil S.
Jashvi N. Desai, Jashvi N.
Jack E. Falk, Jack E.
Siddharth S.Nair
Connor P. Ropke
About 95 percent 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. NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by about 300 business organizations, higher education institutions, and individual donors that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.
Over 1.3 million juniors in about 20,000 high schools entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program 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.
To become a Finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
From over 16,000 semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February they will be notified of this designation. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.
RiverJournalOnline is the online publication of River Journal and River Journal North, both published by River Towns Media LLC, Briarcliff Manor, NY. No part of River Journal or River Journal North including photos, artwork, ads and text may be reproduced without the written consent of the Publisher.
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