merit WHS students — Back Row: Julia Cao; Calliope Donner; Elaine Cheng; Dr. Jamie Chisum, WHS Principal; Chetan Dhebar
Front Row: Ellen Kim; Stephanie Xia; Anish Sankar

Nine high school seniors in Wellesley have been announced as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, joining over 16,000 students across the country. The academically talented cohort may now continue in the competition for some 6,930 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring

Organizers of the not-for-profit awards group, which operates without government assistance, say about 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing. Approximately half of those Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship. Awards are funded largely through corporate and foundation underwriters.

Congrats to Wellesley’s National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

Xia, Anita (Dana Hall School)
Zhao, Shinglai (Dana Hall School)
Cao, Julia (WHS)
Cheng, Elaine (WHS)
Dhebar, Chetan (WHS)
Donner, Calliope (WHS)
Kim, Ellen (WHS)
Sankar, Anish (WHS)
Xia, Stephanie (WHS)

Path to greatness

Although most of the Semifinalists attain Finalist status, it’s not exactly easy to get there. But students haven’t made it this far without excellent organizational skills and the support of their families and schools. To get to the Finalist round, a high school official (usually a guidance counselor) 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; honors and awards received; an essay written by the student. SAT or ACT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test are also required.

Just making it to the semis is no mean feat. The nationwide pool represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors and 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.

Those who make it to the Finalist level are notified in February. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists.

Cha-ching by spring

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2026. But not all at once, mind you. National Merit will announce the winners in dribs and drabs, spaced out over four separate announcements. We anxiously await the press releases.

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered

Every Finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis.
About 830 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 150 corporations and business organizations for Finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of the communities where sponsor plants or offices are located.
About 150 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 3,600 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.