Brighton High School student Weston Long has received a National Merit National Distillers Distributors Foundation Scholarship. This endowed scholarship program was established in 2008, and earnings from the endowed funds annual provide awards to National Merit Scholarship finalists.
Long, whose probable career field is broadcast journalism, is part of the first group of approximately 700 high school seniors in the 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Program who have won corporate-sponsored awards financed by about 115 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations.
Long is in his first year serving as sports editor of The BHS Times. He is involved with MedLife, Ruff ‘N Rowdy, Community Impact Club, Yearbook, NHS, Varsity Football, and a variety of community service organizations outside of school, such as HOBY, Gleaners, and the American Red Cross. Weston is also a big football fan, loves to travel, and is part of the sports broadcasting team at WHMI 93.5.
Scholars were selected from students who advanced to the Finalist level in the National Merit Scholarship competition and met criteria of their scholarship sponsors. Corporate sponsors provide National Merit Scholarships for Finalists who are children of their employees, who are residents of communities the company serves, or who plan to pursue college majors or careers the sponsor wishes to encourage.
Most of these awards are renewable for up to four years of college undergraduate study and provide annual stipends that range from $1,000 to $10,000 per year. Some provide a single payment between $2,500 and $10,000. Recipients can use their awards at any regionally accredited U.S. college or university of their choice.
Corporate-Sponsored Merit Scholarship Winners
Funding for these National Merit Scholarships is provided by corporate organizations that represent nearly all sectors of American industry. Sponsors from the business community have underwritten awards offered in all 71 competitions, expending or committing over $892 million to support the intellectual development of the nation’s scholastically talented youth.
2026 National Merit Scholarship Competition
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 September 2025, more than 16,000 Semifinalists were designated 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 be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, Semifinalists had to fulfill requirements to advance to Finalist standing. Each Semifinalist was asked to complete 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 their qualifying test performance. From the Semifinalist group, over 15,000 met Finalist requirements.
By the conclusion of the 2026 competition, about 6,700 Finalists will have been selected to receive National Merit Scholarships totaling nearly $24 million. Winners are the Finalist candidates judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 to conduct the National Merit Scholarship Program. The majority of National Merit Scholarships offered each year are underwritten by some 300 independent corporate and college sponsors that support NMSC’s efforts to honor the nation’s scholastically talented youth and encourage academic excellence at all levels of education.
