Fairfax High School Students In Final Round Of National Merit Scholarship Winners

FAIRFAX, VA — Two Fairfax students were among the final winners of the National Merit Scholarship in 2025.

On Monday, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation named winners in the last round of 2025 scholarships. The nearly 800 winners of college-sponsored awards join more than 2,900 recipients named in June. There were also 2,500 of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's own $2500 Scholarships and about 830 corporate-sponsored scholarships awarded.

In all, more than 7,100 students earned National Merit Scholarships totaling nearly $26 million in 2025. Two students who reside in Fairfax were among the 15 winners from Virginia announced on Monday:

• Ethan A. Gertz, a student at Fairfax High School, received a scholarship from the University of Alabama and will study physics.
• Akshara K. Subburam, a student at Chantilly High School, received the scholarship from Virginia Commonwealth University and will study medicine.

Students were entered into the National Merit Scholarship competition while taking the PSAT as juniors in 2023. Around 16,000 semifinalists were named based on each state's proportion of graduating seniors. Semifinalists were the top scoring students in their states and represent less than 1 percent of seniors in the U.S.

To be eligible for finalist status, semifinalists had to submit a detailed scholarship application with an essay and details on extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions as well as demonstrate an outstanding academic record and have an endorsement from a high school official. Students also had to receive an SAT or ACT score confirming their performance on the PSAT.

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Around 15,000 finalists met requirements for finalist status and were eligible to be chosen for corporate-sponsored, National Merit Scholarship-sponsored and college-sponsored awards. Over 70 years, about 389,000 students have won National Merit Scholarships collectively worth nearly $1.4 billion.