Ten Choate Students Named National Merit Semifinalists

Ten members of the class of 2027 have yet another reason to smile as they begin their final year at Choate.

On Wednesday, September 9, 2026, the National Merit Scholarship Program unveiled its list of more than 16,000 semifinalists, which includes the following sixth-form students: Neil Alejandro ’27, Rachel Fan ’27, Leah Han ’27, Kaz Kousaka ’27, Kaylin Lam ’27, Sophie Park ’27, Shaleen Sheth ’27, Ethan Sun ’27, Neil Wang ’27, and Leo Wei ’27.

The road to becoming a semifinalist began during the 2025-2026 academic year when students at more than 20,000 high schools across the country entered the program by taking the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. After students complete the preliminary exam, they are encouraged to submit a detailed application that offers more insight into their academic performance and extracurricular involvement. Of the more than 1.2 million entrants, less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors are named semifinalists.

From the pool of more than 16,000 semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the final round. Finalists will have the opportunity to receive one of the 2,500 National Merit® Scholarships worth $2,500. Additionally, an estimated 700 corporate-sponsored and 3,500 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be awarded to students who meet the individual sponsor's criteria. Recipients will be announced periodically between April and July, welcoming graduating students into the National Merit Scholarship Program community of nearly 400,000 recipients nationwide.