National Merit Recgonizes 24 Seniors

The National Merit® Scholarship Program has recognized 24 University School seniors as Semifinalists and Commended students in the 2027 competition. These 24 Semifinalists and Commended students represent 24% of the University School Class of 2027. 

 

The nationwide group of Semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. The Semifinalist designation is the first step toward becoming a National Merit Scholarship winner. Scholarship winners are selected based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college environments.

 

Our University School students consistently demonstrate their academic skills and enthusiasm in their classrooms, and this national recognition of their hard work and achievements is well-deserved. These students excel in areas of school and life beyond academics. Among them are varsity athletes, award-winning speech & debate competitors, stage actors, Gold Key recipients in the Scholastic Art & Writing competition, orchestra and other music ensemble members, and accomplished scientists and engineers who have earned statewide and national honors—and many hold more than one of these distinctions.   

 

All lead and serve our US community by the example they set in the classroom, on the playing field, and as heads of student clubs or activities. Their accomplishments reflect not only individual excellence, but also the collective spirit of leadership and service that defines our senior class. Well done!

 

 

Bobby Berglund

Sahas Chhabra

Emmett Coggin

Brennan Coley

Thomas Lodowski

Jack Nelson

Aditya Samprathi

 

 

Ahmed Akbenlioglu

Sutton Ayres-Aronson

Ethan Camp

Ethan Chan

Trip Doyle

Tucker DuPaul

Kartik Gulati

Anton Iskra

Cody Kimmel

Oliver Krishnaney

Charlie Martin

Griffin Quigley

Aaron Raiz

Shreyas Rajagopalan

Nick Salata

Dylan Vaidya

Michael Zhang

Congratulations to these seniors on this outstanding achievement!

 

 

Over 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2026-27 National Merit Scholarship Competition 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.