Seven Broken Arrow High School seniors earned spots as National Merit semifinalists, the district announced Sept. 9.

Clairesse Lobsinger, Tucker Phillippe, Heidi Hearn, Philip Tran, Ayat Nayyer, Kamryn Kifer and Kyra Jennings qualified from a national pool of more than 1.3 million students who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), according to Broken Arrow Public Schools. The district described them as "some of the highest scoring in the state of Oklahoma."

All seven are seniors in the Class of 2027.

Only about 16,000 students nationwide advance to semifinalist status each year. Broken Arrow's seven semifinalists outnumber the three named at Union High School and the two at Owasso High School, based on those districts' own announcements.

The Tulsa World reported that 74 area seniors made the semifinalist list overall. Honorees came from Bartlesville, Bixby, Booker T. Washington, Claremore, Jenks, Owasso, Pryor, Union, Wagoner and several private schools.

Broken Arrow Public Schools Superintendent Chuck Perry said the achievement reflects broad community support.

"Behind every student's success stands a team of parents, teachers, and mentors who have invested in these students' journeys," Perry said in the district's announcement.

The students entered the National Merit Scholarship Program, established in 1955, through the PSAT/NMSQT. From the initial pool each year, 34,000 students are commended and 16,000 are named semifinalists. About 15,000 finalists are then chosen, and roughly 8,000 of those receive scholarship awards, including National Merit Scholarships and corporate- and college-sponsored awards.

To advance, the Broken Arrow semifinalists must meet additional academic standards set by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Finalists will be named in February 2027, with scholarship recipients selected from March through mid-June.