Seven Indian Prairie School District 204 graduates earned 2026 National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities, the district announced June 8.

The winners come from all three of the district's comprehensive high schools: Metea Valley, Neuqua Valley, and Waubonsie Valley. Each scholarship provides $500 to $2,000 per year, renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study at the sponsoring institution.

A June 4 Naperville Sun report named five District 204 students among area college-sponsored National Merit winners: Neuqua Valley graduate Robert Yang, medicine at Emory University; Peter L. Carroll of Naperville, computer engineering at Tufts University; Siya Malhotra of Naperville, mechanical engineering at Texas A&M University; and Katherine Y. Yuan of Naperville, anesthesiology at Emory University. Waubonsie Valley graduate Salil Patki of Naperville plans to study mechanical engineering at Texas A&M.

These awards are distinct from the seven corporate-sponsored National Merit Scholarships the district recognized on May 18. College-sponsored awards are the largest category in the National Merit program, with roughly 3,600 offered nationally in 2026 from about 150 institutions. Winners must attend the college financing their scholarship, and the award is canceled upon transfer.

District 204 produced 50 National Merit Semifinalists earlier this cycle. Nationally, the program began with more than 1.3 million entrants who took the 2024 PSAT/NMSQT, and fewer than 1% advanced to semifinalist standing.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation's published schedule lists additional college-sponsored winners to be announced July 13.