photo by: Contributed

Seniors at the Lawrence school district

Lawrence-area high school seniors have been named semifinalists for a national scholarship, putting them among the highest-scoring students in the country and in the running for scholarships to be awarded next spring.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation – a nonprofit established in 1955 to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program — named more than 16,000 semifinalists for the program. These high school seniors now have the opportunity to be named as finalists and compete for National Merit Scholarships offered in spring 2027.

The Lawrence school district had six semifinalists this year – Ben Jackson, Connor Coons, Davian Copeland, Rhett Sullivan, Sadie Reynolds and Sejun Yun, according to a press release from the district.

photo by: Contributed

Jane Ma, Charlie Maples and Alice Pulsinelli

In addition, three seniors were selected to be semifinalists from Bishop Seabury Academy. Those students are Jane Ma, Charlie Maples, and Alice Pulsinelli.

The students enter the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which serves as an initial screen of program entrants. The semifinalists represent less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors and include the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. They must submit a detailed scholarship application highlighting their academic record, participation in school and community activities, leadership experience, employment, and honors and awards.

Semifinalists must also have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, submit an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm their performance on the qualifying test.

From over 16,000 semifinalists, more than 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level, and in February they will be notified of this designation.