Ridgewood & Glen Rock Students Earn National Merit Semifinalist Honors

Every September, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) releases a list that turns a handful of high‑school juniors into national stand‑outs. This year, the spotlight shines on Ridgewood and Glen Rock, where ten students earned a coveted semifinalist spot for the 2026‑2027 cycle.

The road to the semifinalist badge starts, and ends, with the PSAT‑NMSQT taken in junior year. In New Jersey, you needed a score of at least 225 to make the cut. The NMSC calculates that number by doubling the reading‑and‑writing score, adding the math score, then dividing the total by ten. It’s a simple formula, but the preparation behind it can feel anything but.

Out of roughly 16,000 semifinalists nationwide, 511 hail from the Garden State. From Bergen County’s two public high schools, the following names made the list:

Glen Rock High School
• Selina Y. Feng

Ridgewood High School
• Amari Abdalla
• Earnest J. Arnt‑Schemmel
• Aidan Han
• Cheng Ze Liang
• Edward Liu
• Sia Sung

These students will move on to the next round next spring, where NMSC looks beyond test scores. Leadership roles, community service, and academic awards all factor into who becomes a finalist—and eventually a full‑scholarship recipient. Finalists typically receive an un‑restricted $2,000 per year for up to four years of college.

If you’re certain a student’s name should be on this list but doesn’t appear, it’s likely an oversight. A quick email to Patch can set the record straight.

For parents, teachers, and neighbors, the news is a reminder of the hard work happening in our local classrooms. It’s also a nudge for anyone who’s still deciding whether to take the PSAT seriously—those scores could open doors far beyond the next school year.