See the West Michigan students chosen as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists – MLive.com
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Of the 472 Michigan high-schoolers named as semifinalists for the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program, 38 were from Kent, Ottawa or Muskegon counties, according to contest results released this month.
The program, headed by the National Merit Scholarship Corp., measures individual scholastic ability and potential for success in college students.
The names of more than 16,000 student semifinalists were announced Wednesday, Sept. 10.
That’s from among 1.3 million high school juniors in 20,000 schools who entered the latest national competition after taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT (PSAT) or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, according to a news release.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements. They’ll have the potential to advance to the finalist level before scholars are announced next year.
About 95% of semifinalists are expected to reach finalist standing, according to the scholarship corporation. Around half of finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship.
The qualifying test is an initial screening of program seniors, with the number of semifinalists in each state proportional to its percentage of the national total of seniors graduating.
To become a finalist, high-schoolers must submit a scholarship application detailing their academic record, participation in school and community activities, leadership abilities, employment, and other honors and awards.
They must also write an essay, earn SAT scores confirming their earlier performance and receive an endorsement from a high school official.
Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered next spring. Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500, $2,500 awards, in addition to about 830 corporate-sponsored awards and thousands of awards from roughly 150 colleges and universities.
The list of qualifying students in Michigan represent schools, districts and communities across the state, including in Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties and their associated intermediate school districts (ISD).
KENT COUNTY
ADA
FOREST HILLS EASTERN H. S.
BYRON CENTER
ZION CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
CEDAR SPRINGS
CEDAR SPRINGS H. S.
GRAND RAPIDS
CATHOLIC CENTRAL H. S.
CITY H.S.
EAST GRAND RAPIDS H. S.
FOREST HILLS CENTRAL H. S.
FOREST HILLS NORTHERN H. S.
GRAND RAPIDS CHRISTIAN H. S.
HOMESCHOOL / ONLINE SCHOOL
NORTHPOINTE CHRISTIAN H. S.
WEST MICHIGAN AVIATION ACADEMY
GRANDVILLE
GRANDVILLE H. S.
KENTWOOD
EAST KENTWOOD H. S.
ROCKFORD
ROCKFORD H. S.
LOWELL
LOWELL H. S.
OTTAWA COUNTY
HOLLAND
BLACK RIVER H. S.
HOLLAND CHRISTIAN H. S.
HOLLAND H. S.
WEST OTTAWA H. S.
HUDSONVILLE
HUDSONVILLE H. S.
JENISON
JENISON H. S.
ZEELAND
ZEELAND WEST H. S.
MUSKEGON COUNTY
NORTH MUSKEGON
NORTH MUSKEGON H. S.
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