2 North Penn Students Win National Merit Scholarships

LANSDALE, PA — Two North Penn High School students have been selected as winners of the prestigious National Merit Scholarship, joining a tiny percentage of winners from around the country.

Namit J. Parikh, who plans to study electrical engineering, and Jiya K. Shah, who plans to study medicine, will each receive a $2,500 scholarship.

Eighty nine students from Pennsylvania were selected as winners of this year's competition, including several from Montgomery County.

Selection for the 2026 National Merit scholars began in Oct. 2024, when about one percent of students nationally taking the PSAT were selected as semifinalists.

From that field of around 16,000 semifinalists, around 15,000 met the academic standards required to continue to the finalist level of competition.

The group was further whittled down to about 6,700 students nationwide who have earned the "merit scholar" title this spring.

This competition is separate from the National Merit Corporate Scholars competition, which is funded by corporations connected to student families. Those winners were announced earlier this spring.