27 Prosper ISD seniors reach National Merit semifinals, with every high school represented

Twenty-seven Prosper ISD seniors are semifinalists in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program, the district announced Thursday, Oct. 8.

All four of the district's high schools have at least one:

• Prosper High School: 13
• Walnut Grove High School: 7
• Rock Hill High School: 6
• Richland High School: 1

Semifinalist status is based on scores from the PSAT/NMSQT the students took in 2025. According to the district, more than 1.2 million students from about 20,000 high schools entered through that test, and fewer than 16,000 were named semifinalists nationwide, less than 1% of the country's graduating seniors.

Each state's share of semifinalists is set in proportion to its share of the nation's graduating class, so the Prosper students were measured against other Texas seniors.

What comes next

Being a semifinalist is not the end of the process. To move up to finalist, each student has to keep a strong academic record, get an endorsement from a high school official, write an essay and confirm the qualifying score with an SAT or ACT result.

The district says more than 15,000 of this year's semifinalists nationwide are expected to become finalists, and about half of the finalists will go on to be named Merit Scholars.

The district's announcement lists the students by school. In its release, Prosper ISD tied the results to the advanced coursework it offers on the way to college, career and military readiness.

Sources

prosper-isd.net

prosper-isd.net