25 GCS Students Named 2027 National Merit Semifinalists
Twenty-five GCS students have been identified as Semifinalists in the 72nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,700 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $24 million that will be offered next spring.
Blue Ridge High
- Brayden Hayes
Eastside High
- Chloe Tan
Greenville Sr. High Academy
- Reece Boore
- Jill Huntley
- Anna Patry
- Noah Pinkerman
J.L. Mann High Academy
- Meenakshi Chelian
- Benjamin Cowden
- Aarush Pallath
- Aqsa Shaikh
- Shreyasi Shreyasi
Mauldin High
- Kelly Quach
Riverside High
- Abigail Anderson
- Ryan Balodis-Stuart
- Mae Belflower
- Aaron Cho
- Huy Huynh
- Daniel Southerlin
- Zachary Thies
Southside High
- Tram Pham
Wade Hampton High
- Grayson Champion-Wescott
- Emma Smith
- Julie Smith
- Rebecca Smith
Woodmont High
- Julian Osorio
Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.
Steps in the 2027 Competition
High school juniors entered the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, 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.
To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and a high school official 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, and honors and awards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
From the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February they will be notified of this designation. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. Merit Scholar designees are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.
National Merit Scholarships
Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2027. Every Finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit® $2,500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis. About 700 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 120 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. In addition, about 140 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 3,500 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution. National Merit Scholarship winners of 2027 will be announced beginning in April and concluding in July.