Three North Royalton High School seniors have been named semifinalists in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program, placing them among the nation’s highest-achieving high school students.
Peter Horrigan, Charles Lupica and Henry Steel were selected for the prestigious recognition based on their performance on the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
More than 16,000 high school seniors nationwide were named semifinalists this year. Semifinalists represent less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors and now have the opportunity to advance in the competition for approximately 6,700 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $24 million.
To become finalists, students must meet several additional requirements, including submitting a detailed scholarship application outlining their academic record, leadership experience, extracurricular activities, employment and honors. They also must receive a recommendation from a high school official and earn an SAT or ACT score that confirms their qualifying test performance.
More than 15,000 semifinalists are expected to advance to finalist standing. Approximately half of the finalists will ultimately receive a National Merit Scholarship and earn the title of Merit Scholar.
Scholarship winners will be announced beginning in April 2027 and continuing through July.