8 Arlington Heights Area Students Awarded $2,500 2026 National Merit Scholarships

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Eight students from the Arlington Heights area were among the winners of this year's National Merit $2,500 scholarship, which were announced Wednesday by the corporation.

The National Merit $2,500 scholarship winners were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, according to National Merit.

The winners from the Arlington Heights area include:

• William E. Corley, Arlington Heights (John Hersey High School, Arlington Heights) — Probable career field: industrial engineering.
• Quinn B. Davis, Arlington Heights (Prospect High School, Mount Prospect) — Probable career field: Mathematics
• Auren C. Whiting, Arlington Heights (Rolling Meadows High School, Rolling Meadows) — Probable career field: Biological Engineering
• Vishnu G. Vijay, Elk Grove Village (Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Aurora) — Probable career field: Computer Science
• Anagha Saiamulya Pullela, Hoffman Estates (William Freed High School, Palatine) — Probable career field: Undecided
• Cindy Wang, Hoffman Estates (Barrington Community High School, Barrington) — Probable career field: Physics
• Dayita Mandal, Palatine (William Fremd High School, Palatine) — Probable career field: Computer Engineering
• Abraham Thomas, Schaumburg (Schaumburg High School, Schaumburg) — Probable career field: Mechanical Engineering (Automotive)

This is the second announcement of winners for the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program. College-sponsored Merit scholarship winners will be announced on June 3 and July 13, National Merit said.

By the end of this year's competition, about 6,700 students will have earned scholarships worth about $24 million, according to National Merit.