Officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) recently announced the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Among the names on the list of Semifinalists is Saint Peter High School senior Allan Nienow, the son of Amanda and Aaron Nienow of St. Peter.
(ABOVE) SPHS senior Allan Nienow (middle) who was recently named as a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist, is shown here receiving his official notification from SPHS School Counselor Regina Sirianni (left) and SPHS Principal Annette Engeldinger (right).
Over 1.3 million juniors in about 20,000 high schools entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,930 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered in the spring of 2026. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition.
“We are extremely proud of Allan and his accomplishments,” Regina Sirianni, SPHS school counselor, said. “He is an exceptional student and that is proven with his outstanding test score on the PSAT."
About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title. NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by about 300 business organizations, higher education institutions, and individual donors that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence. For more information about the competition, please visit www.nationalmerit.org.