The Oneida City School District is proud to announce that Ivy Bodnar and Irene Barris, seniors at Oneida High School, have been recognized as semifinalists in the prestigious 71st Annual National Merit Scholarship Program. They are among just 16,000 students nationwide—selected from a pool of 1.3 million entrants—earning this distinction.

The PSAT/NMSQT serves as the initial screening for the program. Semifinalists represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors and are the highest-scoring students in each state.

As semifinalists, Ivy and Irene will now have the opportunity to compete for nearly 7,000 National Merit Scholarships, valued at approximately $26 million, to be awarded in spring 2026.

To advance to finalist standing, students must meet rigorous academic and extracurricular requirements. This includes submitting a detailed scholarship application, demonstrating leadership, earning school and community endorsements, maintaining outstanding academic performance, and confirming their earlier test results with SAT or ACT scores.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s mission is to recognize the nation’s scholastic champions and promote academic excellence.

We congratulate Ivy and Irene on this outstanding achievement and wish them continued success as they advance in the competition.

Winners of the 2026 National Merit Scholarships will be announced beginning in April and continuing through July.