3 Old Lyme, East Lyme High School Students Named National Merit Semifinalists

THE LYMES, CT — Three high school seniors in East Lyme and Old Lyme have been named semifinalists in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Jack Chen and Jessica Feng from East Lyme High School, and Lauren Fulara from Old Lyme High School were among more than 16,000 students nationwide who were announced Wednesday as semifinalists in the 72nd annual competition.

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The students now have an opportunity to compete for about 6,700 National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $24 million that will be awarded next spring. About 95 percent of semifinalists are expected to advance to finalist standing, and roughly half of the finalists are expected to receive a National Merit Scholarship.

More than 1.2 million juniors at about 20,000 high schools entered the competition by taking the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

Semifinalists represent less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors and include the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number selected in each state is proportional to that state's share of the nation's graduating seniors.

To advance, semifinalists and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application containing information about the student's academic record, activities, leadership, employment and honors.

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

Finalists are expected to be notified in February, with National Merit Scholarship winners announced beginning in April.