Woodlands Academy senior advances in 2026 National Merit® quest

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart is proud to announce that one of its senior class members has qualified to continue her pursuit of a highly prestigious scholarship award. Maya Whiteman, of Glencoe, is among the less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors achieving Semifinalist status in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. This group of academically talented students will continue in the competition for some 6,930 National Merit® Scholarships worth nearly $26 million to be awarded next spring. In addition, recipients of these scholarships earn the coveted title of Merit Scholar®.

“I am so very proud of Maya for achieving this outstanding national recognition of the academic excellence she has achieved during her years as a student here at Woodlands Academy,” said Associate Head of School for Academics Rocco Gargiulo. “I join the entire Woodlands community in wishing Maya continued success during the rest of her National Merit Scholarship quest.”

The 2026 National Merit Scholarship competition began last school year, with more than 1.3 million high school juniors taking a preliminary exam. The resultant nationwide pool of more than 16,000 Semifinalists includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. Each 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.

The next step in the process is advancing to the Finalist level. Achieving that distinction is based on a Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2026. Every Finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit® $2500 Scholarships awarded on a state-representational basis. In addition, 830 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 150 corporations and business organizations for Finalists who meet their specified criteria. Finally, about 150 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 3,600 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsoring institution.

Evanston-based National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) is a non-profit organization that operates without government assistance. It was established in 1955 to conduct the annual National Merit Scholar Program. NMSC underwrites scholarships with its funds and by approximately 340 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.

Woodlands Academy is a Catholic, independent, day-and-boarding, college-preparatory school for young women of all faiths in grades nine through 12. Founded in Chicago in 1858 and located in Lake Forest since 1904, Woodlands is part of a worldwide network of Sacred Heart Schools that spans the United States and 40 other countries on six continents. To learn more, visit woodlandsacademy.org.