Schools
Ridgefield High School Student Earns National Merit College Award Distinction
It's the last group of National Merit Scholar designees to be announced in 2026 by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
RIDGEFIELD, CT — The National Merit Scholarship Corporation Tuesday announced more than 750 additional winners of National Merit Scholarships, financed by colleges and universities, and one Ridgefield High School student made the cut.
Jayin K. Palicha, for whom NMS lists engineering as a likely career field, will receive a scholarship sponsored by Texas A&M University.
The latest Merit Scholar designees join more than 2,500 other college-sponsored award recipients who were announced in June.
Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the Finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program who will attend their institution.
College-sponsored awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.
This year, 138 colleges and universities are sponsoring more than 3,250 Merit Scholarship awards. Sponsor colleges include 69 private and 69 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia.
