Five seniors at The John Cooper School in The Woodlands have been named semifinalists in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program, the school announced Wednesday, Sept. 9.

Britt Williams-Bunts, Luke Milan, Polina Terentyeva, Helena Linsenmeier and Rohan Kansal are now eligible to compete for a share of roughly 6,700 scholarships worth nearly $24 million, to be awarded between April and July 2027. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) selected more than 16,000 semifinalists nationwide for the program's 72nd year, Hello Woodlands reported.

"We are incredibly proud to celebrate Rohan, Helena, Luke, Polina, and Britt for earning this distinguished national recognition," Dr. Stephen Popp, head of school at The John Cooper School, said in the school's announcement.

The five students represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors. More than 1.2 million juniors at about 20,000 high schools entered the competition by taking the 2025 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Each state's semifinalist pool is proportional to its share of the national graduating class.

About 95 percent of semifinalists are expected to reach finalist standing, with more than 15,000 of the 16,000 semifinalists projected to advance. Finalist notifications are expected in February. To qualify, each semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed application covering academic records, extracurricular activities, leadership, employment, honors, an essay and confirming SAT or ACT scores.

Three types of scholarships will be offered in spring 2027: 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships awarded on a state basis, about 700 corporate-sponsored awards and roughly 3,500 college-sponsored awards.

Cooper's upper school enrolls 539 students out of a total enrollment of 1,400 for the 2026-27 school year, which the school describes as its largest student body ever, according to the school's website. The school offers 22 Advanced Placement courses, with 95 percent of students scoring 3 or higher. Its mean SAT score for the Classes of 2026 and 2027 is 1373.

Winners will be announced beginning in April 2027 and concluding in July.