Steamboat Springs High School senior Lennyn Arndt has been named a 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalist, joining a nationwide pool of less than 1% of high school seniors, according to a Wednesday statement. 

Over 1.2 million juniors across the United States entered the program by taking the 2025 Preliminary SAT, also known as the PSAT, which serves as an initial screen of entrants. Semifinalists include the highest-scoring participants in each state. 

“This honor reflects years of academic focus, hard work, and character,” said Superintendent Kristin Drury in the statement. “We are incredibly proud to celebrate Lennyn and look forward to cheering on her continued success as she advances in the competition.”

Semifinalists must demonstrate an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay and earn SAT or ACT scores that confirm their earlier performance on the qualifying test. 

Of the more than 16,000 semifinalists, over 15,000 are expected to advance to the finalist level and will be notified in February. National Merit Scholarship winners, chosen from the finalist pool, are selected based on their skills, accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or religion. 

The 2027 National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in four news releases beginning in April and concluding in July, according to the statement.