CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (Chambana Today) — Champaign Centennial High School senior Jieun Lee has been named a semifinalist for the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program, placing them as one of the nation’s top high school scholars.
More than 1.3 million juniors in over 21,000 high schools around the country enter the program by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). The nationwide pool of about 16,000 semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.
Semifinalists have the opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 6,930 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million, which will be awarded next spring.