BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood High School senior Megan H. Sutherland has been selected as a semifinalist in the 72nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program, placing her among the nation’s top high school scholars.
Sutherland ranks among approximately 16,000 semifinalists nationwide, representing less than 1% of high school seniors in the United States. She earned the honor based on her performance on the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which was taken by more than 1.2 million juniors across 20,000 high schools.
She is one of four honorees chosen from Richland School District Two. Also named semifinalists from the district were Spring Valley High School students Debasmita Mishra, Sarthak Nelakuditi, and Rudra H. Patel.
As a semifinalist, Sutherland will have the opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 6,700 National Merit Scholarships valued at nearly $24 million. Historically, about 95% of semifinalists advance to the finalist stage, with roughly half of those finalists ultimately earning the title of National Merit Scholar.
Finalists will be considered for three types of awards:
- National Merit Scholarship: $2,500 single-payment awards granted on a state-representational basis.
- Corporate-sponsored Scholarship: About 700 awards funded by approximately 120 corporations and business organizations for students meeting specific criteria, such as children of employees or local community residents.
- College-sponsored Scholarship: Roughly 3,500 awards supported by about 140 colleges and universities for finalists who plan to attend the sponsor institution.
The 2027 National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in four nationwide releases between April and July.