PULASKI COUNTY, Ark. -- Three Pulaski County Special School District high school seniors have been named semifinalists in the 2027 National Merit® Scholarship Program.
Kate Mitchell of Joe T. Robinson High School, Tatum Roberts of Maumelle High School and Jackson Dowdy of Sylvan Hills High School are among more than 16,000 students nationwide who earned the distinction and will continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships to be awarded in spring 2027.
According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), more than 1.2 million juniors in about 20,000 high schools entered the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, NMSC says.
The nationwide list includes 158 semifinalists from Arkansas. To become a finalist, they and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, outlining outstanding academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. They also must earn an SAT or ACT score that confirms the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
About 95% of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will earn one of about 6,700 National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $24 million.
Finalists will be announced in February. National Merit Scholarship winners of 2027 will be announced beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join over 395,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.