Six Half Hollow Hills Students Named 2026 National Merit Semifinalists

The Half Hollow Hills Central School District is proud to announce that six students have been named Semifinalists in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These academically talented students join the more than 16,000 Semifinalists nationwide who now have the opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,930 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring.

The Half Hollow Hills students earning this prestigious honor are Half Hollow Hills High School East’s Isaac Campbell, and Half Hollow Hills High School West’s Rachel Braverman, Madelyn Eisenberg, Benson Huang, Eli Jawitz, and Daniel Yang.

“I am proud to congratulate our six students recognized as National Merit Semifinalists in the 2026 competition,” said Mr. John O’Farrell, Superintendent of Schools. “This honor reflects their exceptional academic achievements, and we look forward to supporting them as they advance through the next stages of this prestigious program.”

Over 1.3 million juniors in about 20,000 high schools entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as the initial screen of program entrants. 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 student’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 their earlier performance on the qualifying test.

From over 16,000 Semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February they will be notified of this designation. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of Finalists. Merit Scholar designees are chosen based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.

National Merit Scholarship winners of 2026 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July. These recipients will join approximately 389,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.

An education-oriented community with high academic expectations, the Half Hollow Hills Central School District is located in a residential area of 50,000 people in the central part of Long Island, approximately 40 miles from New York City. Providing for the education of approximately 7,200 students, the school district has five elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. Half Hollow Hills High Schools are fully accredited by the New York State Department of Education. The district is committed to providing all students with equitable opportunities to excel in academics, athletics and the arts.