Fifteen students in seven Augusta-area high schools have been named semifinalists in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Lakeside High School in Columbia County has the most semifinalists in the area with six.
The program, begun in 1955, awards undergraduate college scholarships through a nonprofit to high-performing academic students. More than 1.2 million students compete for the scholarships by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
More than 16,000 of the highest-scoring students have advanced this year to the semifinals. About 95% of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and about half of finalists will
win a National Merit Scholarship and receive the Merit Scholar title.
Finalists are determined by academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment and honors received.
Here are the schools and semifinalists:
- Aiken Scholars Academy: Daniel E. Colleran, Richard G. Knight, Haley M. Munn
- Aquinas High School: William Lovello
- Augusta Preparatory Day School: Aidan Kho
- John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School: Caroline Moon
- Greenbrier High School: Ryan Miao, Landon Norris
- Lakeside High School: Saisurya Lakkimsetti, Stephen Lui, Dev Shetty, Jay Shetty, Hanna Xu, Karina Zucco
- Westminster Schools of Augusta: Charlotte T. Stansfield
Joe Hotchkiss is a veteran news reporter for The Augusta Chronicle. He can be reached at jhotchkiss@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Six Augusta-area high schools produce National Merit semifinalists
