NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 11, 2025) — Six seniors at New Rochelle High School have been named Commended Students in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program.
The honored students are Gabrielle Cohen, Carlos Del Aguila, Samuel Cave, Claire Sehdeva, Maxwell Smith and Noah Yairi. They earned the distinction based on their performance on last year’s Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).
The students join about 34,000 others out of 1.3 million who took the test to be recognized for high achievement.
“These types of achievements only reaffirm the high quality of students that we are privileged to serve,” New Rochelle High School Principal Dr. Dagberto Artiles said. “These students are a direct representation of what happens in the classrooms across the entire New Rochelle High School campus and the level of rigor that our nearly 3,000 students are exposed to on a daily basis.”
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, views the commended students as demonstrating outstanding potential for academic success.
“These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation,” the corporation said.
Established in 1955, the corporation conducts the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by the corporation with its own funds and by about 300 business organizations, higher education institutions and individual donors that share its goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.
The National Merit Scholarship Program recognizes top-performing U.S. high school students based on their PSAT/NMSQT scores, with about 1.3 to 1.4 million participants annually. For the Class of 2026, entry was via the October 2024 PSAT. High scorers—roughly the top 3-4% (around 50,000 students)—are divided into Commended Students and Semifinalists. Semifinalists can advance to Finalist status, where scholarships are awarded. Receive a Letter of Commendation from their high school principal, acknowledging outstanding potential. No advancement in the competition or NMSC scholarships, but the honor can strengthen college applications and may qualify students for non-NMSC awards from schools or organizations. They represent high academic achievement but are not eligible for further NMSC stages.
This article was drafted with the aid of Grok, an AI tool by xAI, under the direction and editing of Robert Cox to ensure accuracy and adherence to journalistic standards.
