These outstanding students are among 16,000 national semifinalists recognized in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Recognized students are academically talented high school seniors who represent less than 1% of all seniors across the country and include the highest test-scoring entrants in each state. They will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for one of the 6,930 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million to be awarded in the spring.
Over 1.3 million students across about 20,000 high schools entered the 2026 National Merit by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants.
National Merit Finalists exhibit exceptional academic abilities, skills, and accomplishments and are highly recruited by selective colleges across the nation, with some colleges and universities offering significant scholarships or even full rides based on National Merit status.
Please join us in celebrating RISD’s National Merit Semifinalists:
- Jonas Dalton, J.J. Pearce High School
- Colby Wilks, J.J. Pearce High School
- Alan, Trinh, J.J. Pearce High School
- Shani Nguyen, Richardson High School
- Logan Zutavern, Richardson High School
National Merit Scholarship winners of 2026 will be announced beginning in April and will conclude in July. These scholarship recipients will join approximately 389,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title in the program’s history.
