Three Green Bay Area Public Schools high school students have been named semifinalists in the 2027 National Merit Scholarship Program, placing them among the highest-achieving students in the nation.

Preble High School’s Sviatoslav Maksimau and Southwest High School’s William Hansen and William Valliere earned the prestigious recognition based on their performance on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

The National Merit Scholarship Program recognizes students who demonstrate exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

More than 1.2 million high school juniors from approximately 20,000 schools entered the 2027 

National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2025 PSAT/NMSQT. Approximately 16,000 students nationwide were selected as semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.

Semifinalists are the highest-scoring program entrants in each state. Students must complete additional requirements to advance to the Finalist level, including submitting a detailed scholarship application, maintaining an outstanding academic record, receiving a recommendation from a school official, writing an essay and earning SAT or ACT scores that confirm their earlier performance.

About 95 percent of semifinalists are expected to advance to the Finalist level. All National Merit Scholarship winners will be selected from the Finalist group.

The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students for their academic ability and potential.

Green Bay Area Public Schools congratulates all three students on their outstanding achievement and wishes them continued success as they advance through the National Merit Scholarship competition.