Kabir Goyal and Daniel Qi Named National Merit Scholars

The 2,500 National Merit Scholarships are the awards for which every Finalist is considered. Winners are named in every state, in numbers based on the state’s percentage of the nation’s graduating high school seniors. Daniel and Kabir were first named Semifinalists in September, meaning their PSAT test scores, taken junior year, were among the top 1% of the nearly 1.3 million test takers. Among all students who entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program, only about 16,000 were named Semifinalists. They were designated on a state representational basis, in proportion to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors.

In order to advance in the competition and be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, a Semifinalist had to become a Finalist by fulfilling several requirements that included submitting a detailed scholarship application and presenting a record of very high academic performance. Finalists were judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors. Criteria included academic record; scores from the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the student; and a recommendation written by a high school official.

Kabir and Daniel will join more than 362,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.