See Ardmore, Merion, Wynnewood National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

ARDMORE-MERION-WYNNEWOOD, PA — Twenty-one students in Ardmore, Merion, and Wynnewood have been named semifinalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship program.

The students are among 16,000 semifinalists who are in the running for some 6,930 National Merit scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring.

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition.

About 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

Below are the semifinalists from schools in the area:

Ardmore

Lower Merion High School

• Alistair Browning
• Yimeng Du
• James France
• Finn Gilligan
• Isabella Gilligan
• Sam Lockman
• Marcus Lord
• Alexander Mazzeo
• Nicholas Mazzeo
• Devin Pettit
• Samuel Polichino
• Theodore Schoenfeld
• Sebastian Steed
• Jonah Vogl
• Finley Wagner
• Emily Wang
• Robert Wang

Merion Station

Kohelet Yeshiva High School

• Hanina Hecker

Wynnewood

Friends Central School

• Greta Goldberg
• Noah Perot
• Christopher Samuel

To become a finalist, the semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the semifinalist’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 the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.

From more than 16,000 semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level, and they will be notified of this designation in February.

All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from this group of finalists.

Merit Scholar designees are selected based on their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.