18 Plano ISD graduates have earned one of the country's most prestigious academic honors, as they were selected as winners of the 2026 College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®).

Financed by U.S. colleges and universities, these students, along with about 2,500 across the country, were selected among the finalists in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program who plan to attend their institution. The awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study. 138 higher education schools from 42 states and the District of Columbia are underwriting Merit Scholarships awards through the National Merit Scholarship Program. College-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners announced today are a part of the distinguished group of about 6,700 high school seniors who will receive National Merit Scholarships for college undergraduate study worth nearly $24 million.

Plano ISD congratulates the following winners:

Plano West Senior High School

Diya Senthilumar – Indiana University Bloomington Scholarship, Probable career field: Business

Gabrielle Chan-Thuyen Phan – University of Texas at Dallas Scholarship, Probable career field: Optometry

Jaden Yen – Texas A&M University Scholarship, Probable career field: Mechanical Engineering

Kaustubhi Joshi – University of Texas at Dallas Scholarship, Probable career field: Digital Forensics

Mahir Mondle – University of Texas at Dallas Scholarship, Probable career field: Mechanical Engineering (Robotics)

Samuel So – Texas A&M University Scholarship, Probable career field: Medicine

Siri Tirumuru – University of Texas at Dallas Scholarship, Probable career field: Biomedical Engineering

Plano East Senior High School

Adrian Marchant – Texas A&M University Scholarship, Probable career field: Nuclear Engineering

Anushka Mohanty – University of Florida Scholarship, Probable career field: Medicine

Athreya Chokhani – Texas A&M University Scholarship, Probable career field: Computer Science

Bantee Greene – University of Texas at Dallas Scholarship, Probable career field: Pharmacy

Hayden Dillon – Texas A&M University Scholarship, Probable career field: Aerospace Engineering

Ritika Manikandan – University of Texas at Dallas Scholarship, Probable career field: Medicine

Siya Trhipathi – Texas Tech University Scholarship, Probable career field: Biology

Sydney Kramen – University of Texas at Dallas Scholarship, Probable career field: Medicine

Plano Senior High School

Aanya Chokshi – Texas A&M Scholarship, Probable career field: Electrical Engineering

Nang Vu – Texas A&M University Scholarship, Probable career field: Nursing

Noelle Doerr – Texas A&M University Scholarship, Probable career field: Business Administration

High school juniors entered the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program when they took the 2024 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. In the Fall of 2025, more than 16,000 Semifinalists were named on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating high school seniors. Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of the nation’s seniors. To compete for Merit Scholarship awards, Semifinalists first had to qualify for the Finalist level of the competition by fulfilling additional requirements. Each Semifinalist was asked to submit a detailed scholarship application, including a written essay and 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. From the Semifinalist group, over 15,000 met requirements for Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will be Merit Scholarship winners in 2026.

An additional group of Scholars will be announced in July, bringing the total number of college-sponsored Merit Scholarship recipients in this year's competition to approximately 3,500.

 These Plano ISD graduates join a distinguished group of scholars whose achievements have earned national recognition. Their success reflects not only individual dedication, but also the culture of academic excellence that continues to thrive throughout Plano ISD.