Ella Merriman is one of 16,000 high school seniors to receive such recognition this year. Over 1.3 million juniors from about 20,000 high schools across the country entered the 2026 competition. The semifinalists represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.
To enter the National Merit Scholarship Program, students had to meet certain PSAT/NMSQT criteria based on the 2024 test, administered when they were juniors. As a semifinalist, Merriman will now have the opportunity to compete for 6,930 National Merit Scholarships, worth nearly $26 million in total. The next step requires semifinalists, along with a high school official, to submit an application detailing the semifinalist's academic and extracurricular records. The application also includes an essay and SAT or ACT requirements.
Of the 16,000 semifinalists, over 15,000 are expected to advance as finalists. Notification of advancement will be issued in February. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from that list. Those winners will be announced between April and July of 2026.