Students From Southington Named Semifinalists For Major Academic Honor

SOUTHINGTON, CT — More than 16,000 high school seniors nationwide have been named semifinalists in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program, including students from Southington.

This puts them in contention for about 6,700 scholarships worth approximately $24 million.

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The National Merit Scholarship Corp. announced the semifinalists in its 72nd annual competition Sept. 8.

In Southington, the following Southington High School students were named semifinalists:

• Devon E. Jasulavic

• Thomas H. Kohl

The students represent less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors and were selected from more than 1.2 million juniors at about 20,000 high schools who entered the competition by taking the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, or PSAT/NMSQT.

Semifinalists include the highest-scoring entrants in each state, with the number selected in each state proportional to that state's share of the nation's graduating high school seniors.

The students now have an opportunity to advance to the finalist stage and compete for scholarships that will be awarded next spring.

More than 15,000 semifinalists are expected to become finalists, with those students scheduled to be notified in February.

To advance, a semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application outlining the student's academic record, school and community activities, leadership experience, employment, honors and awards.

Students must also maintain an outstanding academic record, receive an endorsement and recommendation from a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores confirming their performance on the qualifying test.

About half of the finalists are expected to receive a National Merit Scholarship and earn the designation of Merit Scholar.

$24 Million in Scholarships

Three types of scholarships are expected to be awarded in spring 2027:

• National Merit $2,500 Scholarships: All finalists will compete for 2,500 scholarships awarded on a state-representational basis.
• Corporate-sponsored scholarships: About 700 awards will be provided by approximately 120 corporations and businesses. Eligibility may be based on criteria such as being the child of an employee or living in a community where a sponsoring company operates.
• College-sponsored scholarships: About 140 colleges and universities are expected to provide approximately 3,500 scholarships to finalists who attend the sponsoring institutions.

The National Merit Scholarship Corp., a nonprofit organization established in 1955, administers the competition without government assistance. Scholarships are funded by the organization as well as businesses, colleges, universities and individual donors.

For more information on the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists, click on this link.