Alachua County Students Earn National Merit Finalist Honors

ALACHUA COUNTY – All 16 students from Alachua County Public Schools who were previously recognized as semifinalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship program have now been named finalists, a distinction earned by fewer than 1% of the nation’s high school seniors.

The National Merit Scholarship program is among the most competitive academic recognition programs in the country. Approximately 1.5 million students nationwide took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) as juniors during the last school year. Of those, about 16,000 students were named semifinalists based on their performance on the exam.

To advance to finalist standing, semifinalists were required to submit detailed applications outlining their academic achievements, honors and awards, leadership activities, teacher recommendations and a personal essay. The finalists now move forward in consideration for National Merit Scholarship awards.

The ACPS students named finalists represent five high schools across the district.

At Buchholz High School, finalists are Annika Caedington, Pranay Gadikota, Shailey Karri, Evan Rotchford and Keith Zheng.

Eastside High School finalists include Francheska Melendez, Irma Rahman, Juhyung Seong and Miles Smith.

Gainesville High School finalists are Rowan Archer, Lina Dos Santos, Madeleine Goodrich, Irma Impink and Elizabeth Rant.

Logan Rockwell of the Professional Academies Magnet at Loften High School also earned finalist recognition.

At Santa Fe High School, Robert Hu was named a finalist.

National Merit Finalists are selected based on a comprehensive review process that considers academic performance, the rigor of coursework, extracurricular involvement and leadership, in addition to standardized test results. Students must also maintain strong academic standing throughout their senior year.

The designation places these students among an elite group of high-achieving seniors nationwide. In the coming months, finalists will compete for National Merit Scholarships funded by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, corporate sponsors and colleges and universities.

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