Eastport-South Manor Junior-Senior High School students Sarah Issac, Lucille Romaine, Andrew Santangelo, William Steinacher and Michell Zheng were named Commended Students in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program for exceptional academic promise.
Although these students will not continue in the 2026 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, this is an outstanding achievement. Commended students placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2026 competition by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
The District congratulated these students for this exceptional accomplishment.
In September 2026, more than two-thirds (about 34,000) of the high scorers will be designated Commended Students. They will be named on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index qualifying score that may vary from year to year.
In recognition of their outstanding ability and potential for academic success in college, NMSC will honor these students by sending Letters of Commendation through their high schools. Although Commended Students will not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, some may be candidates for Special Scholarships offered by corporate sponsors. NMSC will notify those candidates in November 2026.
To enter the National Merit Scholarship Program and compete for recognition and 7,590 scholarships to be offered in 2027 students must take the PSAT/NMSQT in October 2025 and meet other program entry requirements.
The National Merit Scholarship Program is an annual academic competition among high school students for recognition and college undergraduate scholarships that began in 1955.
The program is conducted by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®), a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. United States high school students enter the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which serves as an initial screen of over 1.3 million entrants each year, and by meeting program entry and participation requirements.