The Oneida City School District is proud to announce that one of our high school students, Irene, has been named a finalist for the prestigious 71st Annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Last fall, she was among just 16,000 students nationwide—selected from a pool of 1.3 million entrants—first earning the semi-final 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 a finalist, Irene will now have the opportunity to compete for nearly 7,000 National Merit Scholarships, valued at approximately $26 million.

In order to advance to finalist standing, Irene had to meet rigorous academic and extracurricular requirements. This included submitting a detailed scholarship application, demonstrating leadership, earning school and community endorsements, maintaining outstanding academic performance, and confirming her 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 Irene on this outstanding achievement and wish her continued success.

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