by: Pratyusha Soni

The National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSC) is a prestigious opportunity to gain academic recognition and be awarded a scholarship as students graduate high school, entered annually by over 1.3 million high school students (typically juniors) in more than 21,000 high schools taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). 

Innovation Academy is proud to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2025 NMSC Semi-Finalists: 

Ahmed, Ridwan S. 
Bahukhandi, Anya 
Bai, Nathan N. 
Bang, Glochan 
Battula, Saikiran R. 
Bowers, Stephen M. 
Byun, Jaeyoung 
Chinta, Krish R. 
Choe, Sophia K. 
Clopper, Meredith L. 
Goziyev, Ramin 
Lago, Daniel Chris O. 
Lee, Cristopher I. 
Mahindrakar, Pranay N. 
Malikov, Zinnun. 
Mistry, Reema J. 
Mumma, Kylie S. 
Ram, Anay 
Shah, Prisha K. 
Shah, Shukun P. 
Siegel, Gabrielle F. 
Srinivasan, Adya V. 
Staples, Logan J. 
Sun, Chloe Z. 
Tadepalli, Ananya S. 
Velpuri, Sahishnu 
Xhemali, Nathan 
Yoked, Liad 
Zhang, Eric L. 

The Numbers? 

• These exceptional students will now compete for scholarships totaling nearly $28 million. 

• From approximately 16,000 Semi-Finalists, over 95% will be chosen as Finalists. 

The Process? 

• Students will complete a scholarship application detailing their academic merits, school and community activities, honors and/or awards, leadership potential, and character. 

• Semi-Finalists must also write an essay, obtain a recommendation letter, and submit test scores from the SAT or the ACT to illustrate academic prowess and potential for success. 

Types of Scholarships? 

• The available scholarships for Finalists include $2,500 scholarships, over 840 Merit Scholarships sponsored by corporations and business organizations, and 3,800 college-sponsored Merit Scholarships for graduates bound to the corresponding institutions. 

The 2026 Process – Getting Started 

• Current high school juniors (11^th grade) will be taking the PSAT on 10/8. 

• Remember to prepare well before taking the PSAT and to accurately fill out all testing information on test day. 

Congratulations to all the 2025 Semi-Finalists! 

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