Camden Catholic Principal Mrs. Heather Crisci is honored to announce that senior Kuyill Ponnappan has been named a 2026 National Merit Semifinalist and seniors Andrew George and Declan Rotter have been named Commended Students in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program.
Kuyill (from Moorestown's William Allen Middle School) is among approximately 16,000 Semifinalists. These talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,930 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholars award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent 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.
Over 1.3 million juniors in about 20,000 high schools entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Tes (PSAT/NMSQT). The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state's percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
Andrew and Declan (both alumni of Resurrection Catholic School in Cherry Hill) are among about 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation who are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2026 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended students placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2026 competition by taking the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Tes (PSAT/NMSQT).
"Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success," commented a spokesperson for NMSC. "These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success."