Students from across southern Denton County were named among 16,000 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists announced Wednesday. The recognition places these students one step closer to earning the title of National Merit Scholar, a distinction that often includes a scholarship.
The list of local semifinalists includes students from Argyle ISD, Denton ISD, Lewisville ISD, and the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at the University of North Texas. Among the named students are Nuojuan Jin and Saathvik Pakhala from Argyle ISD, and Rebecca M. Serna and William H. Taylor from Ryan High School in Denton ISD.
Lewisville ISD had a significant number of semifinalists, with 23 students from Flower Mound High School and 14 from Hebron High School. Marcus High School also had five students named. Additionally, two students from private, homeschool, or academy settings were recognized: Sean D. Crabtree of Coram Dao Academy in Flower Mound and Tanmay Vasudeva of Texas Virtual Academy of Hallsville in Lewisville.
The Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at UNT had the largest group of local semifinalists, with 36 students named. The academy’s list includes Aishwarya Anand, Rishit Anand, and Anush Bindlish, among others.
According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, more than 15,000 of the semifinalists are expected to advance to the finalist level, with those names to be announced in February. The corporation stated that 6,700 scholarships totaling $24 million will be awarded in Spring 2027.
