Twenty-nine Plymouth-Canton Community Schools seniors landed in the top 1% of more than 1.2 million students nationwide after being named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists.

The district announced Wednesday, Sept. 9, that students from all three high schools on the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park campus earned the recognition through their scores on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Plymouth High School led with 14 semifinalists. Canton High School had nine and Salem High School had six.

The 29 students now compete for a share of nearly $24 million in National Merit Scholarships to be awarded in spring and summer 2027. Nationally, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation named more than 16,000 semifinalists in the 72nd annual program. More than 15,000 are expected to advance to finalist standing in February.

"We are incredibly proud to see 29 P-CCS students earn this prestigious national recognition," said Superintendent Monica Merritt. "Their success is the result of tremendous talent, hard work and determination, supported by educators who challenge and inspire students every day …"

The count is up from 25 P-CEP semifinalists in the 2026 competition, a figure Merritt reported at the Oct. 14, 2025, school board meeting. Of those 25, the district said 22 advanced to finalist standing, and 10 ultimately earned scholarships, which P-CCS called its highest total in recent memory. In the 2024 competition, 37 P-CEP students were named semifinalists.

To advance, students must submit an essay, earn a school recommendation and meet additional academic requirements, including evaluation of coursework rigor, grades and community involvement.

Canton High School semifinalists: Ayush Achyara, Minajan S. Kennedy, Gwyneth Lin, Tarek Malik, Drish N. Nanavati, Nitin V. Neeluru, Aryahi Patel, Ahmad Shaheen and Navraj Singh.

Plymouth High School semifinalists: Cameron Adamski, Sanjay Aravind, Hamza Asif, Airah Baig, Aekam K. Guron, Tatsuru Imai, Evelyn Lee, Jin Hao Lim, Roshni G. Misra, Dev B. Patel, Arnav Ranjan, Aliyah Simmonds, Anagha B. Vatul and Amoha Verma.

Salem High School semifinalists: Ali Alnaib, Alana Azmi, Dron Das, Vilok Gunti, Soha Modi and Anuja Raghavendra.

Finalist notifications are expected in February, with scholarship winners announced in spring and summer 2027.