3 West Chester Area HS Students Win National Merit Scholarships

WEST CHESTER, PA — Three students from the West Chester area have been selected as winners of the prestigious National Merit Scholarship, joining a tiny percentage of winners from around the country.

Local winners will each receive a $2,500 scholarship. They include:

• Collin Z. Hu, of West Chester, plans to study history, Unionville H.S.
• Alexander V. Isaac, of West Chester, plans to study financial planning, West Chester East H.S.
• Anshul Kollar, of West Chester, plans to study computer science, Unionville H.S.

Subscribe

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