Six Clear Lake High School seniors have earned one of the nation’s most prestigious academic distinctions, advancing to the semifinalist stage of the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program.
The six Clear Lake High School students recognized are:
- Vethmin DeZoysa
- Samiksha Dhar Roy
- Jason Dong
- Brooklynn Mayo
- Cathryn Wu
- Rafael Zhang
They are among just 13 students across Clear Creek Independent School District named National Merit Semifinalists this year and among more than 16,000 semifinalists selected nationwide.
The distinction places the Clear Lake students among an exceptionally small group of high-achieving seniors. According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, semifinalists represent less than 1% of the nation’s graduating high school seniors.
A Strong Showing for Clear Lake High School
Clear Lake High accounted for nearly half of CCISD’s 13 National Merit Semifinalists this year, giving the campus one of the district’s strongest representations in the prestigious academic program.
CCISD’s 2027 National Merit Semifinalists are:
Clear Lake High School
- Vethmin DeZoysa
- Samiksha Dhar Roy
- Jason Dong
- Brooklynn Mayo
- Cathryn Wu
- Rafael Zhang
Clear Brook High School
- Zaid Asad
- Kara Pham
Clear Creek High School
- Charlie Funke
Clear Falls High School
- Paul Petrov
- Sarah Walters
Clear Springs High School
- Pedro Alvarez Perez
- Ben Watkins
Clear Creek ISD officially announced the semifinalists on September 22, recognizing the students for their outstanding academic achievement.
Clear Lake High School has a long record of strong academic performance and regularly produces students receiving recognition through the National Merit Scholarship Program, including Commended Students, Semifinalists and Finalists.
What Does It Take to Become a National Merit Semifinalist?
The path to National Merit recognition begins well before a student’s senior year.
Students competing in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program entered the competition by taking the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, or PSAT/NMSQT, and meeting additional program eligibility requirements.
Approximately 1.3 million students entered the 2027 competition.
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation uses scores from the Reading and Writing and Math portions of the PSAT/NMSQT to identify approximately 50,000 of the highest-scoring students for recognition.
From that group, approximately 16,000 students advance to semifinalist status.
Semifinalists are selected from among the highest-scoring eligible students in each state. Because qualifying standards are determined on a state-by-state basis, reaching the semifinalist level represents significantly more than simply achieving a particular national test score.
For the six Clear Lake High students, the recognition means they have advanced through a competition that began with more than a million students nationwide.
What Happens Next?
Becoming a semifinalist does not automatically make a student a National Merit Scholar.
Each semifinalist must now complete additional requirements to advance to Finalist standing.
According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, semifinalists seeking to become Finalists must satisfy several requirements, including:
- Maintaining a consistently strong academic record
- Completing the National Merit Scholarship application
- Submitting an essay
- Receiving the endorsement and recommendation of their high school principal
- Submitting an SAT or ACT score that confirms their qualifying PSAT/NMSQT performance
Approximately 95% of National Merit Semifinalists are expected to satisfy the requirements and advance to Finalist standing.
That would mean more than 15,000 students nationwide advancing to the next stage of the competition.
Finalists in the 2027 competition are expected to be notified in February 2027.
Scholarship Opportunities Await
Students who advance to the Finalist level will then be considered for scholarships awarded through the National Merit Scholarship Program.
According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation’s announcement for the 2027 competition, semifinalists will have the opportunity to compete for approximately 6,700 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $24 million.
Scholarship winners will be selected from the Finalist pool, with awards announced during the spring of 2027.
About half of the students who reach Finalist standing are ultimately expected to receive a National Merit Scholarship and earn the designation of Merit Scholar.
More Than a Scholarship Competition
While the scholarship opportunities associated with the program are significant, reaching the semifinalist level is itself one of the most notable academic distinctions available to high school students in the United States.
The National Merit Scholarship Program dates back to 1955 and is administered by the nonprofit National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Each year, students from high schools throughout the United States compete for recognition and undergraduate scholarship opportunities.
The recognition of six students from one Clear Lake campus also highlights the academic achievement taking place at Clear Lake High School and throughout Clear Creek ISD.
For Vethmin DeZoysa, Samiksha Dhar Roy, Jason Dong, Brooklynn Mayo, Cathryn Wu and Rafael Zhang, however, the National Merit journey is not finished.
The next major milestone will be the announcement of Finalists in early 2027, followed by scholarship selections beginning in the spring.
For now, the six Clear Lake High seniors can count themselves among a select group of students nationwide whose academic performance has earned recognition at one of the highest levels available to American high school students.
Sources:
Clear Creek Independent School District — 2027 National Merit Semifinalists
National Merit Scholarship Corporation