Eight named National Merit Finalists

Honorees include Luke An, Prachi Chetlur, Sara Gillespie, Pritika Gupta, Zahra Hossain, Arth Italiya, Thomas Mallison and Jeffery Zhang. Finalists are selected based on their academic record, SAT scores, leadership, extracurricular involvement, essays and letters of recommendation.

In September 2025, the students were named National Merit Semifinalists after scoring in the top 1% of more than 1.3 million juniors nationwide who took the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in October 2024.

As Finalists, the students are now competing for approximately 6,870 Merit Scholarships that will be awarded this spring. Scholarships fall into three categories: $2,500 National Merit Scholarships, corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships and college-sponsored Merit Scholarships.

All Merit Scholarship winners are chosen from the Finalist pool based on their abilities, skills and accomplishments. Selection criteria include a student’s academic record, the rigor of the school’s curriculum, SAT scores, a high school official’s recommendation, information about activities and leadership, and the student’s personal essay.

Founded in 1955, the National Merit Scholarship Program is a nationwide academic competition that recognizes and awards outstanding high school students. Students enter the program by taking the PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test during the fall of their junior year.