National Merit Scholarship Corporation is pleased to announce the College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship Winners for the college academic year beginning fall of 2026. Officials of each sponsor college selected their scholarship winners from among the Finalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. These awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.

This year college sponsored winners are…

• Devan Umakanthan is graduating from Coronado High School, Henderson, plans to pursue a career in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles
• Ashwin Vaidyanathan of Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology, Reno, will attend University of Texas at Dallas to pursue a career in Biology.

This year, 138 higher education institutions are underwriting Merit Scholarship awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Sponsor colleges and universities include 69 private and 69 public institutions located in 42 states and the District of Columbia.College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners are a part of the distinguished group of more than 6,700 high school seniors who will receive National Merit Scholarships for college undergraduate study worth nearly $24 million.

Each Semifinalist was asked to submit a detailed scholarship application, which included writing an essay and providing information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also had to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, and earn SAT® or ACT® scores that confirmed the qualifying test performance.