11 Central Bucks Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Eleven students in the Central Bucks School District have been named semifinalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship program.

These 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 the Central Bucks School District:

Central Bucks West High School

• Noah Gerstein
• Sanat Nayak

Central Bucks East High School

• Susanna Dai
• Hanwen Hu
• Madelyn Madrid
• Harper Polan

Central Bucks South High School

• Alaina Ahuja
• David Dougherty
• Julian Grofcik
• Deborah Gym
• Lucas Mohr

(Photos by Jeff Werner/Patch)

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 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 selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies, without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.