{"id":94867,"date":"2025-09-15T21:52:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T16:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seminarsonly.com\/news\/?p=94867"},"modified":"2025-09-15T22:02:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T16:32:41","slug":"national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/","title":{"rendered":"National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists 2026 | Key Facts and How to Check"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of over\u00a0<strong>16,000 semifinalists<\/strong>\u00a0in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program in September 2025. <\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>These high-achieving high school seniors represent less than one percent of U.S. graduating seniors and can compete for nearly $26 million in scholarships awarded next spring.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"mb-2 mt-4 font-display font-semimedium text-base first:mt-0\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Key Facts about 2026 Semifinalists<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"marker:text-quiet list-disc\">\n<li class=\"py-0 my-0 prose-p:pt-0 prose-p:mb-2 prose-p:my-0 [&amp;&gt;p]:pt-0 [&amp;&gt;p]:mb-2 [&amp;&gt;p]:my-0\">\n<p class=\"my-2 [&amp;+p]:mt-4 [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:inline-block [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:pb-2\"><strong>Announcement Date:<\/strong>\u00a0Early September 2025.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"py-0 my-0 prose-p:pt-0 prose-p:mb-2 prose-p:my-0 [&amp;&gt;p]:pt-0 [&amp;&gt;p]:mb-2 [&amp;&gt;p]:my-0\">\n<p class=\"my-2 [&amp;+p]:mt-4 [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:inline-block [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:pb-2\"><strong>Eligibility:<\/strong>\u00a0Students qualified by scoring among the top in their states on the 2024 PSAT\/NMSQT. State-specific cutoff Selection Index scores ranged (for example, California\u2019s was 224, Texas 222, Florida 219).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"py-0 my-0 prose-p:pt-0 prose-p:mb-2 prose-p:my-0 [&amp;&gt;p]:pt-0 [&amp;&gt;p]:mb-2 [&amp;&gt;p]:my-0\">\n<p class=\"my-2 [&amp;+p]:mt-4 [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:inline-block [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:pb-2\"><strong>Advancement:<\/strong>\u00a0About 95% of semifinalists are expected to become finalists after submitting scholarship applications, writing essays, and meeting academic and SAT\/ACT confirmation requirements.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"py-0 my-0 prose-p:pt-0 prose-p:mb-2 prose-p:my-0 [&amp;&gt;p]:pt-0 [&amp;&gt;p]:mb-2 [&amp;&gt;p]:my-0\">\n<p class=\"my-2 [&amp;+p]:mt-4 [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:inline-block [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:pb-2\"><strong>Scholarships:<\/strong>\u00a0Finalists can receive one of 6,930 National Merit Scholarships in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"mb-2 mt-4 font-display font-semimedium text-base first:mt-0\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">How to Check Names and Local Lists<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"marker:text-quiet list-disc\">\n<li class=\"py-0 my-0 prose-p:pt-0 prose-p:mb-2 prose-p:my-0 [&amp;&gt;p]:pt-0 [&amp;&gt;p]:mb-2 [&amp;&gt;p]:my-0\">\n<p class=\"my-2 [&amp;+p]:mt-4 [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:inline-block [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:pb-2\">Schools and local media report the names of semifinalists, and official notifications are mailed directly to schools.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"py-0 my-0 prose-p:pt-0 prose-p:mb-2 prose-p:my-0 [&amp;&gt;p]:pt-0 [&amp;&gt;p]:mb-2 [&amp;&gt;p]:my-0\">\n<p class=\"my-2 [&amp;+p]:mt-4 [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:inline-block [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:pb-2\">The National Merit website and local school district websites also publish public lists for each state and school.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"my-2 [&amp;+p]:mt-4 [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:inline-block [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:pb-2\">This year\u2019s selection continues the program\u2019s tradition of recognizing top academic talent and supporting higher education achievement in the U.S.<\/p>\n<h3>Also Read : <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seminarsonly.com\/news\/how-to-check-position-in-queue-pokemon-center\/\">How To Check Position In Queue Pokemon Center<\/a><\/h3>\n<h2 data-start=\"1373\" data-end=\"1415\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">\u26a0\ufe0f Important Warnings \/ Best Practices<\/span><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1417\" data-end=\"1464\">People have mentioned a few caveats, so beware:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1466\" data-end=\"1891\">\n<li data-start=\"1466\" data-end=\"1600\">\n<p data-start=\"1468\" data-end=\"1600\">Refreshing the page or switching tabs too often <em data-start=\"1516\" data-end=\"1521\">may<\/em> cause you to lose your place in queue.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1601\" data-end=\"1750\">\n<p data-start=\"1603\" data-end=\"1750\">Using VPNs or being on proxy networks can sometimes get flagged, possibly delaying or resetting your queue.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"mb-2 mt-4 font-display font-semimedium text-base first:mt-0\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">Sample 2026 Cutoff Scores by State<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"group relative\">\n<div class=\"w-full overflow-x-auto md:max-w-[90vw] border-subtlest ring-subtlest divide-subtlest bg-transparent\">\n<table class=\"border-subtler my-[1em] w-full table-auto border-separate border-spacing-0 border-l border-t\" style=\"height: 458px;\" width=\"842\">\n<thead class=\"bg-subtler\">\n<tr>\n<th class=\"border-subtler p-sm break-normal border-b border-r text-left align-top\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">State<\/span><\/th>\n<th class=\"border-subtler p-sm break-normal border-b border-r text-left align-top\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Estimated 2026 Cutoff<\/span><\/th>\n<th class=\"border-subtler p-sm break-normal border-b border-r text-left align-top\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Actual 2025 Cutoff<\/span><\/th>\n<th class=\"border-subtler p-sm break-normal border-b border-r text-left align-top\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Actual 2024 Cutoff<\/span><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">California<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">220 &#8211; 223 (likely 222)<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">221<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">221<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">Texas<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">218 &#8211; 221 (likely 220)<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">219<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">219<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">New York<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">219 &#8211; 221 (likely 220)<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">220<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">220<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">Florida<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">216 &#8211; 220 (likely 218)<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">217<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">216<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">Massachusetts<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">221 &#8211; 224 (likely 223)<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">223<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">222<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">Pennsylvania<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">217 &#8211; 221 (likely 219)<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">219<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">219<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">Ohio<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">215 &#8211; 219 (likely 217)<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">217<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">216<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">Colorado<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">216 &#8211; 221 (likely 218)<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">218<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">216<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">Minnesota<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">216 &#8211; 220 (likely 218)<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">217<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">216<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">Alabama<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">210 &#8211; 216 (likely 214)<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">212<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">210<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">Montana<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">208 &#8211; 213 (likely 210)<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">209<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">209<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">Wyoming<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">209 &#8211; 213 (likely 211)<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">209<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">207<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">District of Columbia<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">222 &#8211; 224 (likely 223)<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">223<\/td>\n<td class=\"px-sm border-subtler min-w-[48px] break-normal border-b border-r\">223<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"px-two bg-base border-subtler shadow-subtle pointer-coarse:opacity-100 right-xs absolute bottom-0 flex gap-2 rounded-lg border py-px opacity-0 transition-opacity group-hover:opacity-100\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"my-2 [&amp;+p]:mt-4 [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:inline-block [&amp;_strong:has(+br)]:pb-2\">Cutoffs tend to be higher in states with larger populations and stronger academic competition and lower in smaller or less competitive states. The cutoff cannot fall below the national Commended level, which is consistent across all states.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 data-start=\"673\" data-end=\"717\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">\ud83e\uddfe Examples of Semifinalist Announcements<\/span><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"719\" data-end=\"806\">Here are a few examples of students\/schools that have publicly announced semifinalists:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"808\" data-end=\"1752\">\n<li data-start=\"808\" data-end=\"978\">\n<p data-start=\"810\" data-end=\"978\"><strong data-start=\"810\" data-end=\"850\">Prince William County Public Schools<\/strong>: Luke Davis, Alexander Gushi, Rebecca Clark, Julienne Lim, Benjamin Fu, Luke Pomfret.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"980\" data-end=\"1150\">\n<p data-start=\"982\" data-end=\"1150\"><strong data-start=\"982\" data-end=\"1013\">Duval County Public Schools<\/strong>: 28 students from multiple high schools including Fletcher, Mandarin, Paxon, Stanton, and Wolfson.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1152\" data-end=\"1299\">\n<p data-start=\"1154\" data-end=\"1299\"><strong data-start=\"1154\" data-end=\"1191\">GCISD (Grapevine\u2011Colleyville ISD)<\/strong>: 19 students such as Thomas Cooper, Anderson Davis, Tara Jacobs, etc.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1301\" data-end=\"1497\">\n<p data-start=\"1303\" data-end=\"1497\"><strong data-start=\"1303\" data-end=\"1336\">Fairfax County Public Schools<\/strong>: 262 students across 19 high schools, with Thomas Jefferson High School for Science &amp; Technology having 113 semifinalists.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1499\" data-end=\"1566\">\n<p data-start=\"1501\" data-end=\"1566\"><strong data-start=\"1501\" data-end=\"1514\">Plano ISD<\/strong>: 72 students.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1568\" data-end=\"1642\">\n<p data-start=\"1570\" data-end=\"1642\"><strong data-start=\"1570\" data-end=\"1589\">Fremont Unified<\/strong>: 120 students.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1644\" data-end=\"1752\">\n<p data-start=\"1646\" data-end=\"1752\">Some individual names, e.g. from Lemont High School: Kinga Strzalka.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of over\u00a016,000 semifinalists\u00a0in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program in September 2025. These high-achieving high school seniors represent less than one percent&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5919],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-usa"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists 2026 | Key Facts and How to Check - Seminarsonly.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of over\u00a016,000 semifinalists\u00a0in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program in September 2025.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists 2026 | Key Facts and How to Check\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of over\u00a016,000 semifinalists\u00a0in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program in September 2025.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Seminarsonly.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/seminarsonly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T16:22:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T16:32:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Freddy John\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@seminarsonly\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@seminarsonly\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Freddy John\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Freddy John\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/75cf706896b7210fb0a84651adc258bd\"},\"headline\":\"National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists 2026 | Key Facts and How to Check\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-15T16:22:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-15T16:32:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/\"},\"wordCount\":436,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"USA\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/\",\"name\":\"National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists 2026 | Key Facts and How to Check - Seminarsonly.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-15T16:22:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-15T16:32:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/75cf706896b7210fb0a84651adc258bd\"},\"description\":\"The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of over\u00a016,000 semifinalists\u00a0in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program in September 2025.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists 2026 | Key Facts and How to Check\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Seminarsonly.com\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/75cf706896b7210fb0a84651adc258bd\",\"name\":\"Freddy John\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/671d452f5fe9027ab894cbed50911cc764b2c16878222070bf044f21705d4c94?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/671d452f5fe9027ab894cbed50911cc764b2c16878222070bf044f21705d4c94?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/671d452f5fe9027ab894cbed50911cc764b2c16878222070bf044f21705d4c94?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Freddy John\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/author\/anupvnaick_51wq8y4s\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists 2026 | Key Facts and How to Check - Seminarsonly.com","description":"The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of over\u00a016,000 semifinalists\u00a0in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program in September 2025.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists 2026 | Key Facts and How to Check","og_description":"The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of over\u00a016,000 semifinalists\u00a0in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program in September 2025.","og_url":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/","og_site_name":"Seminarsonly.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/seminarsonly","article_published_time":"2025-09-15T16:22:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-15T16:32:41+00:00","author":"Freddy John","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@seminarsonly","twitter_site":"@seminarsonly","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Freddy John","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/"},"author":{"name":"Freddy John","@id":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/75cf706896b7210fb0a84651adc258bd"},"headline":"National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists 2026 | Key Facts and How to Check","datePublished":"2025-09-15T16:22:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-15T16:32:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/"},"wordCount":436,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["USA"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/","url":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/","name":"National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists 2026 | Key Facts and How to Check - Seminarsonly.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-09-15T16:22:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-15T16:32:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/75cf706896b7210fb0a84651adc258bd"},"description":"The National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of over\u00a016,000 semifinalists\u00a0in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program in September 2025.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/national-merit-scholarship-semifinalists-2026-key-facts-and-how-to-check\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists 2026 | Key Facts and How to Check"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/","name":"Seminarsonly.com","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/75cf706896b7210fb0a84651adc258bd","name":"Freddy John","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/671d452f5fe9027ab894cbed50911cc764b2c16878222070bf044f21705d4c94?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/671d452f5fe9027ab894cbed50911cc764b2c16878222070bf044f21705d4c94?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/671d452f5fe9027ab894cbed50911cc764b2c16878222070bf044f21705d4c94?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Freddy John"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news"],"url":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/author\/anupvnaick_51wq8y4s\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94867\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seminarsonly.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}