Penn celebrates record number of National Merit Scholar Semifinalists

Penn High School Principal Dr. Sean Galiher announced that a school-record 15 Penn students have earned National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist status.

Sreeja Bhattacharjee, Mehreen Buchh, Balthasar Cammett, Madeline Dunn, Connor Geoghegan, Zachary Girton, Quinn Hayden, Wasif Javed, Sultaan Khan, Trenton Mager, Ishita Masetty, Leo Ni, Joshua Oh, Roman Ramos and Grant Spadafore  are the academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring.

“We are incredibly proud of our 15 National Merit Semifinalists whose academic excellence reflects years of dedication, curiosity, and a deep commitment to learning,” Dr. Galiher said. “This milestone celebrates not only the exceptional talent of our students but also the collective effort of our teachers, families, and the Penn community that continues to foster a culture of excellence and engagement where all students can thrive.” 

More than 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. 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.