3 Northbrook Students Awarded 2026 National Merit Scholarships

NORTHBROOK, IL — Three students from Northbrook were among the winners of this year's National Merit $2,500 scholarship, which was announced Wednesday by the corporation.

The local students were chosen for the scholarship from a pool of more than 15,000 finalists. Those students are:

• Alison Chung, of Northbrook (Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook) — Probable career field: Anthropology
• Sushant Medikondla, of Northbrook (Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook) — Probable career field: Mathematics
• Lauren Rachelson, of Northbrook (Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook) — Probable career field — Mechanical Engineering

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

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.