Five students from Edmonds-Woodway High School and one from Mountlake Terrace High School were named semifinalists in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. The following are among approximately 16,000 who made the list nationwide:

Edmonds-Woodway: 

Emerson Beehler

Simon Branch

Marcus Icasiano

Ryan Lim

Nathan Zhao

Mountlake Terrace:

Bridget L. Sandwick

Over 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2023 preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship qualifying test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than 1% of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

The semifinalists have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,140 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 95% of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 400 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.