The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced on Wednesday, Sept. 10, its 2026 list of semifinalist high school students who will now compete for a share of about 6,930 scholarships worth almost $26 million. Winners will be announced nationally between April and July next year. This is the 71st annual competition.
High school juniors — 11th graders — entered the 2026 academic competition by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. More than 1.3 million juniors, in about 20,000 high schools, entered the competition by taking the qualifying test.
The highest-scoring students in each state represent the pool of semifinalists who, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, represent less than 1% of United States high school seniors.
The next step for a semifinalist to become a finalist is to complete the required application that includes their SAT or ACT scores, an essay and a letter of recommendation by a high school official.
Finalists are then chosen on the basis of academic record, their participation in community and school activities, how they have demonstrated leadership ability, employment, awards and honors received.
From the group of about 16,000 semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level.
Students will be notified in February 2026 if they are finalists. All National Merit Scholarship winners are selected from this group of finalists, and about half of those are expected to win a scholarship from three categories.
National Merit $2500 Scholarships: Every finalist competes for one of 2,500 scholarships that are awarded on a state-representational basis
Corporate-sponsored scholarships: In 2026, about 830 corporate-sponsored awards will be given out by about 150 corporations and business organizations for finalists who meet their specified criteria (such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located)
College-sponsored scholarships: About 150 colleges and universities finance about 3,600 awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor’s institution
The National Merit Scholarship winners, chosen on the basis of accomplishments, skills and potential for college success, are selected from the February finalists group. Winners are notified, on a rolling basis, in 2026 from April to July.
The 2026 scholarship winners join the nearly 389,000 past winners who have earned the title of Merit Scholar.
Here is the list of semifinalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program in Los Angeles County by school location and the school name:
Agoura Hills
Agoura Hills HS
Hennessey, Grace Lieblich, Garin Mayer, NoahAlhambra
Alhambra HS
Wu, Brendon E. Zhang, Alvin J.Mark Keppel HS
Chang, Keira I. Li, Kalina S.Arcadia
Arcadia HS
Gao, Logan Lin, Cayden Lo, Jake Lu, Elly Lu, Ruixuan Lu, Turner Nguyen, Minhtam Rizzo, Jason Wu, Kevin Yang, Drew Yuan, RachelBellflower
St. John Bosco HS
Paredes, Gian MiguelBeverly Hills
Beverly Hills HS
Albert, Ezra Matcuk, XanderBrentwood
Heritage HS
Aaron, James Jin, CarolineBurbank
Burbank HS
Pay, SebastianInternational School Los Angeles
Procter, GriffinCalabasas
Viewpoint School
Abdou, Joseph S. Kim, Allison E. Mukherjee, JishnuCanyon Country
Canyon HS
Nguyen, Angelina D.Carson
California Academy of Mathematics and Science
Lee, Yumi Penetrante, Joel Sun, OwenCerritos
Gretchen Whitney HS
Andal, Jacob T. Binny, Vivasvat Chung, Chloe Fong, Katelyn Ganapathy, Sanjay Giron, Andrei Santino L. Jacob, Shawn P. Kang, William J. Kim, Katie Lim, Benjamin K. Muraliraj, Olivia V. Park, Keenan S. Prabhu, Niharika Tang, Benjamin Q. Virk, Aaryan N. Zhang, MaximoChatsworth
Sierra Canyon School
Gofnung, Aiden McGowan, NikhilCity of Industry
Workman HS
Lin, YisongClaremont
Claremont HS
Fong, Caleb J. Merla, Arnav N. Mussey, Gabrielle Shrivastav, Aabhisaar A. Vinall, Luke I.Webb Schools
Lee, Alexander Liu, Yiyang Lu, Yihui Ng, Tobey Tang, CandiceCovina
Charter Oak HS
Flores, Nash P.Culver City
Culver City HS
Frigola, Emma Johnson, Rhys E. Marcus, Leo R. Ono-Lemire, NaokiDiamond Bar
Diamond Bar HS
Chang, Shelby Eun, Irene Hu, Junxi Huang, Brian Li, Tyler Lin, Cristina Liu, Cynthia Lu, Eireen Park, Lawrence Tien, Nathan Wang, James Wu, Valerie Ye, Asia Zhang, RongjiaEagle Rock
Eagle Rock HS
Simmons-Saadia, Lazare J.El Segundo
Da Vinci Science HS
Long, Jadon T.El Segundo HS
Antil, AarushVistamar School
King, MairinGlendora
Glendora HS
Angeles, Maegan Boyer, Tessa Deshmukh, Ariya Lin, Emily Patel, YashGranada Hills
Granada Hills Charter HSAkopian, SarkisBowden, JasonKim, William
Hacienda Heights
Glen A. Wilson HS
Guo, GeorgeLa Cañada Flintridge
Flintridge Preparatory School
Bae, Alexander Cooper, Samuel Khoury, Bahia Sanok, NathanLa Cañada HS
Baha, Adam Chen, Nathaniel Chen, Victoria Hwang, Min Kakuk, David Krider, Jonathan Lee, Madison Luk, Thalia S. Maimone, Selena Mercer, Lila Penanen, Tanmay Simonian, JessicaSt. Francis HS
Toche, James J.La Crescenta
Crescenta Valley HS
Buda, Sophia Carrillo, Sonia Kahdian, Daniel Kim, Bailee Ludes, Madoka Oh, Andrew Vesselinov, Angelina Yang, Joshua Jun-HuaLa Puente
Bishop Amat Memorial HS
Guzman, Jerren V. Magaling, Jaedon A.Los Angeles
The Archer School for Girls
Wang, MelindaBrentwood School
Albert, Ruby Cohen, Jacqueline Gu, Eric Kim, Lucas Moon, EthanBenjamin Franklin HS
Seiler, Ivan V.Geffen Academy at UCLA
Brennan, Victoria Essner, Everson Sanghai, PranayLe Lycee Francais
Duhaut-Bedos, SolalLos Angeles Center for Enriched Studies
Piri, Ibrahim Shwartz, Micah Z.Los Angeles County High School for the Arts
Sie, BernardLoyola HS
Friedman, Jacob P. Kim, AaronNakatsu, Joseph Pa Ortiz, Diego A. Vaghaiwalla, Rishad Yuan, MugeMarlborough School
Bae, Mia Chen, Rachel Fischer, Leah Hsieh Schumacher, Sonia Maehara, Alicia Merges, Abigail Siegel, SarahJohn Marshall HS
Waggoner, Raphael I.Marymount HS
Chang, Melaina E. Cohen, Marlena E.Mesivta Birkas Yitzchok
Krich, HillelNotre Dame Academy
Nishimuro, JessicaShalhevet HS
Katzin, SonyaWindward School
Cohn, Charlie Linton, Leila J. Oh, Madeline H. Rutman, Aidan M.Manhattan Beach
Mira Costa HS
Campbell, Miles Henry, Audrey Jackson, Catherine Malis, Emilia Murphy, Lachlan Rothermel, Mary Sulaiman, Brianna Tarnay, CollinNorth Hollywood
North Hollywood HS
Chang, Connor H. Felts, Henry C. French, Daniel C. Hwang, Katie M. Jaspan, Marlowe E. Kim, Danny Lim, Vincent H. Mishra, Shashwat Newhall, Lev S. Ohshima, Suzuko D. Olinger, Natalie N. Putnam, Jack C. Yang, Jerry A. Zhao, Connor Z.Oakwood School
Walpert, NoahScience Academy STEM Magnet
Ernst, Frederick I. Kunnath, Pranav P. Lee, John D. Lee, Ryan M. Rowe, Xavier M.Pacific Palisades
Palisades Charter HS
Kim, Caleb Smith, AudreyPalos Verdes Estates
Palos Verdes HS
Kim, Logan J. Wang, Wesley K. Yim, Charles T.Palos Verdes Peninsula
Chadwick School
Liu, Moshi Maas, Cadence Rosenbaum, Matthew Ross, Alistair Somers, Derek Zeng, SpencerHome school/Online School
Oh, JoshuaPasadena
Blair HS
Griffin, JoelLa Salle HS
Lai, CoryMaranatha HS
Lee, GriffinPasadena HS
Karapetyan, Maria Monson, Jacob Nash, Zachary Nunes, Zalea Sinclair, MeganPolytechnic School
Benitez, Joseph Burt, Clive Chen, Evan Cheung, Ginny Cho, August Chui, Alexander Delbridge, Madeleine Engstrom, Ellery Fish, Filiz Ismagilov, Daniel Shin, Brandon Venuturupalli, Akhil Zhang, Allison Zhang, MichaelWestridge School
Chen, Zihan Liu, Meicen Tan, OliviaRedondo Beach
Redondo Union HS
Buttari, Giulio Choi, Lorelei DiLallo, Zander Kang, Katelyn S. Lerch, Felix Swift, Sheamus Thomson, Mackenzie Yook, JonathanReseda
Reseda HS
Gupta, SionaRolling Hills Estates
Palos Verdes Peninsula HS
Anand, Anish A. Chiou, Ryan C. Cho, Inu J. Choi, Nathan H. Chu, Audrey M. Kang, Yejun Kim, Isaac H. Kwon, Aiden J. Lee, Luke Li, Aaron Ramanuja, Nikhil Tseng, Kaili Y. Tu, Micah K. Wong, Nathaniel L. Wu, Katie E.Rosemead
Rosemead HS
Chen, Jasmine G.Rowland Heights
John A. Rowland HS
Chu, Avery L. Tan, Jeremy Tao, Elaine Zhou, JesseSan Gabriel
Gabrielino HS
Mak, Carter L. Shao, Tianyu Tang, Ethan A.San Marino
San Marino HS
Chan, Brandon C. Chou, Winston L. Chuang, Brandon N. Hsu, Olivia Huang, Kay N. Lee, Ryan H. Phan, Kiefer L. Song, Xiangjie N. Tran, Sarah M. Wu, Benjamin S. Wu, Eason M. Yang, Adelynne E.Santa Clarita
Academy of the Canyons
Chung, AidenSanta Monica
Cossroads School
Rao, Sissi A.New Roads School
Farrell-Katseanes, Hayden Rose, MiloSanta Monica HS
Bendersky Boreth, Eli Choe, Camille Glasser, Sabrina Knauf, Carly L. Naini, KavehSherman Oaks
Notre Dame HS
Braithwaite, Alexander Cruz, Benedict Henry Le, Ethan Mcauliffe, KatherineSouth Pasadena
South Pasadena HS
Asakura, Mason Chang, Alexa Chung, Elizabeth Kano, Sarah Kowal, Anna Singer, Solana Van Kerkhove, Gihan Vandevelde, RoseStudio City
Campbell Hall
Reyblat, EliHarvard-Westlake School
Abrahamson, Zachary R. Aguilar, Miles S. Assil, Sydney D. Bakaya, Vikrant Benardo, Samuel L. Bowse, Brando K. Chen, Ethan Z. Dai, Markenever Dai, Mikenever Daub, Lauren Drouin, Adrian Ferrie, Jessica Glass, Calder J. Graczyk, James E. Graff, Kayla A. Higashi, Anju Jeon, Ella M. Jo, Andrew H. Lee, Seoyoon Liftin-Harris, Silas M. Louie, Robinson J. Majumdar, Lyra Mayer, Chase Meyer, Max S. Park, Audrey E. Ramberg, Sally M. Rosen, William L. Ryu, Erin Y. Sarvaiya, Nikhil Schlessinger, Shimon Schwartz, Levi R. Scoville, Cordelia T. Tran-Lee, Emma Yam, Melanie H. Yilmaz, Darren R. Yuan, Chen Zahiri, Cyrus C. Zhang, Ka YanSun Valley
Francis Polytechnic HS
Barraza Saucedo, EduardoTarzana
Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies
Kovalev-Sheinberg, Sarah M. Wachs, Sylvia M.Temple City
Temple City HS
Hu, Neil Liao, Eric Prasad, Manu Sabol, Hakan Trieu, LoganTorrance
South HS
Han, Andrew Jang, JunueWest HS
Lee, Augustine Moon, Katherine Que, Kaden Sayano, James Shao, Warren Wong, BenjaminValencia
Valencia HS
Kim, Andrew Kozakis, DevinWest Ranch HS
Arangil, Rohit Avalos Lujan, Florencia Chang, Brandon W.Van Nuys
Van Nuys HS
Lee, IanVenice
Venice HS
Gibson, Rickia R.Walnut
Walnut HS
Chen, Elise C. Chen, XinyueWest Hills
Chaminade College Preparatory
Kogan, MarcWestlake Village
Oaks Christian School
Mitterberger, Carolin Pak, EmmaWestlake HS
Basamakov, Alexander Gowda, Khushi Kwon, Chenya Liu, Angela Wang, Chloe Wu, Krystal Xie, BenjaminWinnetka
A.G.B.U. Manoogian-Demirdjian School
Gharibian, Andrew Markarian, Sevag Vakian, SevagWoodland Hills
William Howard Taft HS
Marletti, Jakob D. Nabat, Seth J. Simpson, Jack A.
High school students interested in applying in future years need to talk to their school counselor to make arrangements to take the PSAT/NMSQT test. Registration is through the high school and not by the students. For information on the competition, tinyurl.com/mrx4t933
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation was established in 1955 and is an independent, not-for-profit group that does not operate with government assistance.
The goals of the organization are to reward academically-dedicated students, encourage academic excellence at all levels of education, promote a deeper respect for learning in general and to encourage individuals and organizations to sponsor scholarships.
The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who demonstrate “exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.” www.nationalmerit.org
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