Twenty-one Baton Rouge Magnet High School students were recently announced as semifinalists in the prestigious 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program. It is the most of any school in Louisiana.
These outstanding students are:
Andrew Beasley • Olivia Bryant • Charlotte Carpenter • David Diez • Tristan Jarnagin • Julia Jung • Shehzad Khan • Sofia Larenas Bustos • Cecily Lu • Ivy Luo • Kenny Nguyen • Isha Pasala • Nicholas Peer • Lukia Schwehm • Grace Smith • Lucky Thomas • Emma Wang • Brianna Warren • Alexander Yang • Ryan Yang • Sofia Zhu.
They are among more than 16,000 seniors nationwide who have the opportunity to compete for nearly $26 million in scholarships in the spring.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 95% 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.
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
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.
Learn more ➡️ https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/start.aspx?gid=2&pgid=61
