Four Richland Two Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has selected four academically distinguished students from Richland School District Two as semifinalists in the 72nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program.

Richland Two’s National Merit Scholarship semifinalists are Megan H. Sutherland of Blythewood High School; and Debasmita Mishra, Sarthak Nelakuditi, and Rudra H. Patel of Spring Valley High School. 

These students rank among 16,000 semifinalists nationwide, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. They were selected from a pool of over 1.2 million juniors across 20,000 high schools who took the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

The semifinalists will now compete for approximately 6,700 scholarships valued at nearly $24 million. Historically, about 95% of semifinalists advance to the finalist level, with roughly half ultimately earning the prestigious title of National Merit Scholar.

Semifinalists advancing to the finalist level will compete for three types of National Merit Scholarships. Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit® $2500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis. About 700 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 120 corporations and business organizations for finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located. Additionally, about 140 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 3,500 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.

The 2027 National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in a series of nationwide releases spanning from April to July.