Twenty Alpharetta and Milton seniors earned semifinalist status in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program. The students represent less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors, drawn from more than 16,000 semifinalists nationwide.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the semifinalists on Wednesday, Sept. 9. Fulton Neighbor reported the local names on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
Alpharetta High School led the area with nine semifinalists: Andrew L. Breland, Owen Chen, Thomas R. Ding, Kate Y. Dunmire, Neil Khurana, Eshaan Nambi, Uma S. Satpute, Osazuwa B. Uzebu and Andy A. Zhang.
Milton High School had six: Layla K. Baker, David M. Kim, Michael K. McLoughlin, Zaha Z. Qureshi, Jonathan T. Thai and Ishant Vijayan.
Cambridge High School in Milton placed five students on the list: Ruhaan Dhir, Charles E. Gerber, Ayaan S. Gogate, Tianyu Liang and Jonah R. Shapiro.
The 20 local students emerged from a pool of more than 1.2 million juniors at roughly 20,000 high schools who took the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
According to the NMSC, about 6,700 National Merit Scholarships worth roughly $24 million will be awarded in spring 2027. Three types are available: 2,500 scholarships of $2,500 each, awarded by state; about 700 corporate-sponsored awards from roughly 120 businesses; and approximately 3,500 college-sponsored scholarships funded by about 140 universities.
About 95% of semifinalists are expected to advance to Finalist status, according to the NMSC. Finalists will be notified in February. Scholarship winners will be announced in four rounds beginning in April 2027 and concluding in July 2027.
