Peyton Ang, a student from McAllen ISD’s Memorial High School, has been named to the prestigious National Merit Scholarship Program, it was announced earlier this month.
Officials of National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®) announced the names of more than 16,000 Semifinalists in the 70th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Ang participates in McAllen ISD’s International Baccalaureate Programme, based at Lamar Academy. He is taking courses right now that include Math Analysis and Approaches, Theory of Knowledge and History of the Americas. He plans to attend either the University of Texas in Austin or Purdue University in Indiana and study electrical engineering.
Academically talented high school seniors like Ang have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 6,870 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 million that will be offered next spring.
To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and approximately half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 280 business organizations, higher education institutions, and individual donors that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.
More than 1.3 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools entered the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2023 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying
Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the student’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
About McAllen ISD
McAllen ISD is a three-time winner of the state’s highest rating, an “A,” and a four-time winner of the state’s Post-Secondary Readiness Distinction. In 2022, McAllen ISD was named the Best Large District in Texas through the H-E-B Excellence in Education awards. The district is home to 31 campuses and approximately 20,000 students. To learn more about McAllen ISD’s schools and programs, contact Student Outreach at 956-687-MISD (6473).
About McAllen ISD’s IB Programme
McAllen ISD’s International Baccalaureate Programme is a world-renowned learning framework. Students can earn an IB diploma in addition to their high school diploma. In fact, students with an IB Diploma can get a minimum of 24 credit hours at any state university in Texas. McAllen ISD was the first district in the Rio Grande Valley to offer the IB Diploma Programme starting in 2001. In fall 2016, McAllen ISD earned the IB School of Distinction Award for its historical IB Diploma earning rate (the highest average in the world at that time).