Nearly 40 Percent of Baldwin Seniors Honored by National Merit Program

Baldwin is proud to celebrate an extraordinary achievement by the Class of 2027: 24 seniors, nearly 40 percent of the graduating class, have been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program.

The recognition is particularly impressive not only because of the number of students honored, but also because of the breadth of their Baldwin experience. Of the 24 seniors recognized, six students (25 percent) joined Baldwin in the Lower School, nine (37.5 percent) joined in Middle School, and nine (37.5 percent) joined in Upper School. Together, these students represent years of learning, growth, and achievement across every division of the School.

In the 72nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program, 12 Baldwin seniors have been named Semifinalists and 12 have been named Commended Students.

Congratulations to Aviva Kaplan, Nava Khojasteh, Vivian Legate-Yang, Yee-Yee Li, Caroline Ma, Hanna Shevade, Sophie Smith, Lisa Tang, Mano Thirumaran, Kyla Walker, Emily Wang, and Sarah Wu, who have been recognized as National Merit Semifinalists for their outstanding performance on the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).

Baldwin also congratulates Mara Ankenman, Elizabeth Baur, Clara Chen, Tisya Desai, Caroline Didizian, Grace Heuer, Damia Je, Sophie Kalish-Schur, Anna Ko, Hanne Li, Whitney Shissler, and Eileen Wang, who have been named National Merit Commended Students.

The story behind these 24 students is just as impressive as the number itself. Their Baldwin journeys began at different times, with students joining the community across all three divisions. This remarkable mix speaks to the strength of the Baldwin experience at every stage. Some of these students have spent much of their educational journey growing and learning at Baldwin, while others joined the school later and quickly became an integral part of the community. Together, they represent the many paths that can lead to achievement at Baldwin.

For the 12 Semifinalists, the journey continues. To become a Finalist, each Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application that includes the student's academic record, participation in school and community activities, leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards. Semifinalists must also maintain an outstanding academic record throughout high school, receive the endorsement and recommendation of a school official, write an essay, and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm their earlier qualifying-test performance.

The program will offer three types of scholarships in the spring of 2027. Every Finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships, which will be awarded on a state-representational basis. National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July.