These fifteen seniors have shown exceptional dedication, curiosity, and hard work, and we could not be prouder of them.”

Barrington High School Principal Chris Ashley

Best and brightest

Barrington High School’s National Merit Scholarship semifinalists:

• James Burock

• Henry Chwalk

• Maxwell Colacchio

• Aydin Duru

• Zoe Dyer

• Owen Lievense

• Brooks Mello

• Aagami Mohiraaj

• Martin Pani

• Veer Rege

• Joshua Shanty

• Zachary Sheinberg

• Vivian Sonpal

• Matthew Tian

• Benjamin Zhang

By the numbers

• 1,200,000: Number of high school students take the PSAT/NMSQT exam as juniors each year

• 16,000: Number of students selected as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists

• 15,000: Number of students who are selected as National Merit Scholarship finalists

• $24,000,000: Total value of scholarships available to this year’s group of National Merit Scholarship finalists

• 1955: Year that the National Merit Scholarship program began recognizing and awarding college scholarships

• 395,000: Approximate number of students who have earned the title “Merit Scholar” since 1955

• 15: Number of Barrington High School seniors named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists this year

Fifteen Barrington High School seniors have earned the right to call themselves “National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.”

The students are James Burock, Henry Chwalk, Maxwell Colacchio, Aydin Duru, Zoe Dyer, Owen Lievense, Brooks Mello, Aagami Mohiraaj, Martin Pani, Veer Rege, Joshua Shanty, Zachary Sheinberg, Vivian Sonpal, Matthew Tian, and Benjamin Zhang.

These students qualified for the honor by scoring well on the PSAT/NMSQT — an exam that more than 1.2 million students take as juniors each year. Of those entrants, approximately 50,000 high scorers qualify for program recognition, and about one-third of those high achievers are named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists. 

Barrington Superintendent of Schools Dr. Holly Hageman was excited to recognize the standout Barrington High School students. 

“To be named a National Merit semifinalist is a remarkable achievement, and to have fifteen of our students earn this distinction speaks to both their amazing talent, their home support systems, and the strength of our Barrington Public Schools community,” Dr. Hageman said. “I congratulate each of these students and thank the families and educators who have supported them throughout their years in our district.”

To be named a National Merit Scholarship finalist, these 15 Barrington High School students must next complete a detailed scholarship application, which includes an essay, a record of academic performance, a recommendation from a school official, and SAT or ACT scores that confirm their PSAT/NMSQT performance. 

This year’s pool of 16,000 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists will be narrowed down to about 15,000 finalists. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation will announce the students who are named finalists in Feb. 2027, and all of these finalists will receive one of the three types of scholarship awards: National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, corporate-sponsored scholarships, or college-sponsored scholarships.

Barrington High School Principal Chris Ashley praised the efforts of the 15 local students to be named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.

“These fifteen seniors have shown exceptional dedication, curiosity, and hard work, and we could not be prouder of them,” Ashley said. “This recognition reflects their commitment to learning that we see them bring to our classrooms every day. We look forward to supporting them as they take the next step in the competition and continue to advance their academic journeys."