The following story was compiled from a press release.
Six Wilton High School students have been named 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program Semifinalists, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced Wednesday, Sept. 9.
The six students, members of the WHS Class of 2027, are Varsha Arun, Ishanvi Jaiswal, Henry Littin, Sebastian M. Mord, Anshika R. Saagi and Achintya Srinivasan.
They are among more than 16,000 semifinalists nationwide who will have an opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 6,700 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $24 million. The scholarships will be awarded next spring.
More than 1.2 million high school juniors at approximately 20,000 schools entered the 2027 competition by taking the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Semifinalists represent less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors and include the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
The number of semifinalists selected in each state is proportional to that state’s share of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.
Advancing in the competition
To advance to the finalist level, each semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application providing information about the student’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, leadership experience, employment, honors and awards.
Semifinalists must also maintain an outstanding academic record, receive the endorsement and recommendation of a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm their earlier performance on the qualifying test.
More than 15,000 semifinalists are expected to advance to the finalist level and will be notified in February. Approximately half of the finalists will receive a National Merit Scholarship and earn the Merit Scholar title.
Three types of scholarships will be offered in spring 2027: 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, approximately 700 corporate-sponsored awards and about 3,500 scholarships financed by approximately 140 colleges and universities.
The 2027 National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in four national releases beginning in April and concluding in July.
