Twenty-five Allen High School seniors scored high enough on the 2026 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) to earn semifinalist status in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program, Allen ISD announced Tuesday, Sept. 22.

The students now compete for roughly 6,700 scholarships worth nearly $24 million. Finalists will be announced in February 2027, with scholarship winners named between April and July 2027.

All 25 are seniors.

The semifinalists are Neha Abin, Oishik Arif, Devaj Shourya Bhogireddi, Edison Chen, Sophia D'Silva, Alexandre Elie-Dit-Cosaque, Lisa Gu, Heike Hughes, Danielle Hwang, Ryan John, Arohi Joshi-Gadre, Yeonwoo Lee, Chuyao Lin, Chloe Minor, Norah Nasim, Nihal Pathuri, Ryder Perez, Zaina Qureshi, Hiruka Ratnayake, Mark Sajdak, Sahil Shah, Isabel Sheng, Satvika Upperla, Lincoln Weger and Lucas Wu.

More than 1.2 million juniors from about 20,000 high schools entered the competition nationwide. About 16,000 were selected as semifinalists, representing the highest-scoring students in each state, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corp. In Texas, 1,471 students earned the designation, KXAN reported.

The semifinalists represent less than 1% of the nation's graduating high school seniors, according to the district. About 15,000 of the 16,000 semifinalists are expected to advance to finalist standing, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corp., after completing an application that includes academic records, extracurricular activities, leadership roles and a school official's recommendation.

Available scholarships include 2,500 awards of $2,500 each from National Merit, about 700 corporate-sponsored awards and about 3,500 college-sponsored awards.

Allen High School carries a 97% graduation rate and sends more than 90% of its graduates to post-secondary education, according to the district. More than 25% of Allen High students participate in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate programs. Allen ISD's website lists 41 Allen High students as National Merit semifinalists in 2024.

The district will learn which of its 25 semifinalists advance to finalist status when the National Merit Scholarship Corp. releases that list in February 2027.