Long Trail Senior Named National Merit Semifinalist

Quinn Loose, a senior at Long Trail School in Dorset, is among 26 Vermont students recognized as 2027 National Merit Semifinalists.

Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Scholarships

Half-built acoustic guitar body of pale wood resting on a workbench beside a window overlooking forested hills in Vermont. — Vermont senior Quinn Loose of Long Trail School was named a 2027 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist and awarded a full-tuition University of Vermont scholarship. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Long Trail School senior Quinn Loose was named a 2027 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist, placing her among the top one percent of more than 1.3 million high school seniors nationwide. She was also awarded the University of Vermont's Green and Gold Scholarship, which covers full tuition for four years.

Why it matters

The recognition highlights academic achievement among Vermont students, with 26 Vermont students earning semifinalist status this year. For Vermont families, the full-tuition award at the University of Vermont offers a significant state-based path to affordable higher education.

The National Merit Scholarship recognizes roughly the top one percent of more than 1.3 million high school seniors nationwide, and 26 Vermont students earned semifinalist status. The University of Vermont's Green and Gold Scholarship covers full tuition for four years, though the source does not detail the selection criteria beyond recognition of high-performing students.

The players

National Merit Scholarship Corporation

The nonprofit organization runs the annual National Merit Scholarship Program, which identifies high-achieving high school seniors across the United States.

University of Vermont

The public research university in Burlington, Vermont, offers the Green and Gold Scholarship to high-performing incoming students.

Long Trail School

The independent college-preparatory school in Dorset, Vermont, partnered with Tufts University to offer its students early college programming.

The details

Quinn Loose was selected through the National Merit Scholarship program's nationwide evaluation of high school seniors and separately recognized by the University of Vermont's selective Green and Gold Scholarship process. She is also involved in a guitar-building internship, is designing a guitar to fit women's body frames, volunteers at a senior living community, takes college-level mathematics through dual enrollment, serves as president of Long Trail's National Honor Society, and captains the varsity track team as a thrower.

Summer 2025: Attended the Tufts University Early College Summer Program, Engineering of Music.
Summer 2026: Traveled to England for an international teen leadership summer program.
Fall 2026: Named a National Merit Semifinalist and awarded the UVM Green and Gold Scholarship.

Scholarship Pipeline

The National Merit Scholarship Program, which evaluates roughly 1.3 million seniors each year, serves as an early gateway to merit-based college funding. Loose's semifinalist standing and the UVM award show how that recognition can connect directly to full-tuition university offers.

Students who take the PSAT are considered for National Merit recognition, so timing standardized test preparation matters for future eligibility. Families should also check whether in-state universities offer merit-based scholarships that cover tuition for multiple years.

The takeaway

Academic recognition programs can open doors to full-tuition funding, so students should track national and in-state scholarship deadlines early in their senior year.