The commitment to excellence remains strong at Charlotte Latin School — this week, the National Merit Scholarship Program announced its roster of semifinalists for 2026, including 12 Charlotte Latin seniors. Over 16,000 high school seniors nationwide were named semifinalists in the 71st annual scholarship administered by the nonprofit NMSP; nearly 7,000 of them will ultimately be named National Merit Scholars in the spring of 2026, receiving scholarship cumulatively worth nearly $26 million.

To qualify as a semifinalist, students needed to achieve one of the top scores on the PSAT in their state; fewer than one percent of seniors in North Carolina achieved this status. To become finalists and win scholarships, semifinalist students will write an essay and submit an application; they must have an exceptional academic record, the endorsement of a school official, and SAT scores on par with their PSAT scores.

These 12 members of the Charlotte Latin class of 2026 received the honor of being named National Merit semifinalists: Avery Bly, Luca Bravo, June Budzichowski, Emily Cao, Connor Cruz, Kabir Nawaz, Jackie Rao, Kelsey Sciacca, Isabel Yang, Claire Zhang, Lynn Zhao, and Ryan Zhou. Congratulations to the distinguished dozen!