28 San Diego Students Win National Merit Scholarships

National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced on May 13 that 28 students from San Diego County won 2026 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, part of the second public release of this year’s National Merit Scholar awards. The San Diego-area students were among 2,500 winners selected nationwide from more than 15,000 finalists, according to the organization and a local list published by Patch. Each student will receive a one-time $2,500 scholarship funded by the corporation, with underwriting support from corporations and company foundations. The awards are one piece of the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program, which began with the PSAT/NMSQT taken by high school juniors in 2024. ### Which San Diego County students were named in this round? Patch’s May 14 list named 28 students from schools across Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Del Mar, La Jolla, Poway, Rancho Santa Fe and San Diego. The students included Danielle J. Dee of Carlsbad High School; Gianna Lee of Olympian High School; Collier E. Lawson of Torrey Pines High School; and Harry Park, Kailin Xuan, Rebecca R. Liu and Sophie S. Zeng from La Jolla-area schools. (patch.com) San Diego schools with multiple winners included Canyon Crest Academy, Westview High School, Francis Parker School, Torrey Pines High School and The Bishop’s School, according to the published list. Other named recipients came from Mount Carmel High School, Scripps Ranch High School, University City High School, Del Norte High School, Rancho Bernardo High School and La Jolla High School. (patch.com) ### How were the $2,500 winners chosen? The National Merit Scholarship Corporation said the $2,500 winners were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors. The group reviewed academic records, PSAT/NMSQT scores, school and community activities, essays and recommendations, according to the description carried in the San Diego report. (patch.com) More than 15,000 students had reached finalist standing before this round, and the 2,500 winners were drawn from that pool. The corporation’s competition outline says semifinalists advance to finalist standing after meeting academic and other requirements, and all National Merit Scholarship winners are chosen from the finalist group. (patch.com) ### How does this round fit into the broader 2026 competition? National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s press-release schedule shows four public announcement dates for the 2026 program: April 22 for corporate-sponsored winners, May 13 for National Merit $2500 Scholarship winners, June 3 for college-sponsored winners and July 13 for additional college-sponsored winners. The May 13 release that included the 28 San Diego County students was the second of those four rounds. (patch.com) In the first round on April 22, nine San Diego County students received corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarships, according to Patch. That earlier release covered about 700 students nationwide whose awards were financed by roughly 115 corporations, company foundations and other sponsors. ### How large is the National Merit pipeline before students become winners? (nationalmerit.org) The National Merit Scholarship Corporation says about 1.3 million students enter each annual competition by taking the PSAT/NMSQT. From that group, about 50,000 high scorers qualify for recognition, about 16,000 become semifinalists and about 15,000 advance to finalist standing. (patch.com) The same competition outline says roughly half of finalists ultimately receive some form of National Merit Scholarship. For the 2027 cycle described on the corporation’s site, the organization projects about 6,930 Merit Scholarship winners and 660 special scholarship recipients, illustrating the scale of the national program from which local winners are drawn. (nationalmerit.org) ### What happens next in the 2026 award announcements? June 3 is the next scheduled public announcement date for 2026 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners, according to National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s press-release page. A final additional college-sponsored winner release is scheduled for July 13. National Merit Scholarship Corporation says it releases semifinalist and scholarship-winner information to media, while announcements about finalist standing are generally left to individual high schools. (nationalmerit.org) For San Diego County students and families, that means the next named winners in the 2026 program are expected to emerge in the June and July rounds. (nationalmerit.org)