Six students from Wissahickon High School and one student from Plymouth Whitemarsh High School have been selected as semifinalists in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship competition. Managed by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), the competition aims to recognize academically gifted students and help them advance their education. The selected students include Nathan Bacon, Ha Chang, Joseph Chang, Bailey Cohen, Mihir Khanna and Avery Sirni from Wissahickon, and Leo Nasatir from Plymouth Whitemarsh. If they move on to the finalist round, they are eligible to receive a National Merit Scholarship of $2,500.

To qualify as semifinalists, students must first take the PSAT/NMSQT exam and receive a qualifying score based on the NMSC’s selection index. For this season’s competition, students must receive a score above 219 to be considered semifinalists. All students who take the PSAT are automatically entered into the competition, but according to the NMSC, only about 1.3% of the 1.2 million entrants are chosen as semifinalists.

To be a finalist, students must meet additional requirements like maintaining a high GPA, receiving a high SAT or ACT score and participating in extracurricular activities. They must also complete an application which includes an endorsement from a school official and a written essay. All finalists receive a Certificate of Merit and are considered for an NMSC scholarship.

There are several scholarship types available, including a College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship which awards up to $2,000 yearly in financial aid for those attending a college or university. However, participants can only receive one scholarship from the NMSC. Roughly 6,700 finalists are named for scholarships.

Students will be notified whether they have achieved finalist status in February of 2027. To learn more about the National Merit Scholarship competition, click here: National Merit Scholarship Corporation – Home.

Photo – National Merit Scholarship Corporation