13 Seven Hills Students Named National Merit Semifinalists

School sets new record with 24 students recognized as Semifinalists and Commended Students

Thirteen students from The Seven Hills School have been named Semifinalists in the 72nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program, representing nearly 15% of the school’s graduating class. Eleven additional Seven Hills students were named Commended Students, bringing the total number of students recognized to 24 — a new school record. The previous record of 20 Semifinalists and Commended Students combined was set in 2024.

“I am so proud of our students for this remarkable achievement,” said Matt Bolton, Head of School. “Having 24 Seven Hills students earn National Merit recognition this year reflects the dedication that these students bring to their work every day and the love of learning that animates our classrooms. Thank you to our families and teachers for nurturing our students, and congratulations to the honorees.”

On September 9th, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists nationwide. The Semifinalists represent less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors and include the highest-scoring entrants in each state. More than 1.2 million juniors in approximately 20,000 high schools entered the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as the initial screening of program entrants.

Seven Hills Semifinalists

The following Seven Hills students were named Semifinalists in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program:

• Danny Beyerbach
• Clayton Blust
• Santiago Dreher
• Penelope Hwang
• Maya Little
• Abby Michelman
• Vibu Ramineni
• Will Stock
• Sakshum Vij
• Avery Wang
• Timothy Wang
• Irene Zhang
• Jason Zhou

Semifinalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 6,700 National Merit Scholarships, worth about $24 million in total, to be awarded next spring. About 95% of Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, with approximately half of Finalists expected to receive a National Merit Scholarship.

Although Commended Students will not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, they are recognized for their high scores and outstanding academic performance, and each received a Letter of Commendation.

Seven Hills Commended Students

The following Seven Hills students were recognized as Commended Students in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program:

• Beckett Ceron
• Jonathan Elftman
• Lily Fraser
• Anju Green
• Elsa Guo
• Nikhil Hariharan
• Emma Hassell
• Isabella McCloy
• Valmik Rathod
• Meghan Sheerin-Day
• Austin Wang

Pictured:

• Back Row: Jonathan Elftman, Nikhil Hariharan, Santiago Dreher, Isabella McCloy, Emma Hassell, Lily Fraser, Elsa Guo
• Middle Row: Jason Zhou, Beckett Ceron, Sakshum Vij, Vibu Ramineni, Clayton Blust, Abby Michelman, Meghan Sheerin-Day
• Front Row: Austin Wang, Timothy Wang, Avery Wang, Penelope Hwang, Irene Zhang, Maya Little, Will Stock

Not pictured: Danny Beyerbach, Anju Green, and Valmik Rathod

Photo provided.