120 Fremont Unified Students Named 2026 National Merit® Scholarship Semifinalists
Today (September 10, 2025) officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®) announced the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. A total of 120 students from Fremont Unified are recognized, representing a significant portion of seniors nationwide and placing Fremont among the top-ranking cities in California.
These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,930 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring in 2026. 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 approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.
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 an 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.
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 that will be awarded on a state-representational basis. About 830 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 150 corporations and business organizations for Finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located. In addition, about 150 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 3,600 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.
Visit www.nationalmerit.org for more information about the National Merit Scholarship Program.
Footnote: The National Merit® Scholarship Program honors individual students who demonstrate exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The program is not intended to evaluate state education systems.
