AUSTIN (KXAN) — Almost 1,700 high school students in Texas have been named semifinalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program.
The scholarship program announced more than 16,000 semifinalists nationwide. Of those, 1,674 are from Texas, roughly 10% of the nationwide total. Scholarships worth nearly $26 million combined will be awarded to 6,930 students in the spring.
To be considered, students must take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in their junior year. The highest-scoring students in each state are named semifinalists, and the number from each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of all graduating students nationwide.
The semifinalists are now competing to advance to the finalist stage, and about 95% of them are expected to become finalists. They must submit a detailed application, including information about their academic record and participation in school and community activities. They also report any employment, honors and awards and demonstrated leadership abilities.
They must also be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay and take the SAT or ACT, to confirm their earlier performance in the qualifying test. Of the finalists, only about half will win a scholarship and earn the Merit Scholar title.
Here’s the full list of semifinalists from Texas:
Finalists will be announced in February, while scholarship winners will be announced in four waves between April and July.
Looking for previous semifinalists? Here are the lists from 2025, 2024 and 2023.
Scholarship money in the program comes from funds from the National Merit Scholarship Program itself, as well as from around 300 business organizations and higher education institutions.
About 389,000 students have earned the Merit Scholar title since 1955.
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