Understanding the National Merit Scholarship Program Requirements

The National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP) is an academic competition in the United States that recognizes high-achieving high school students and provides college scholarships. The program is administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) in cooperation with the College Board. Each year, over 1.3 million students enter the program, making it a highly competitive arena for academic recognition and financial assistance.

Initial Screening and Entry Requirements

Entry into the National Merit Scholarship Program begins with taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) during the specified year of high school, typically the junior (11th grade) year. Students completing high school in three years or less must be in their last or next-to-last year when they take the test. The PSAT/NMSQT serves as an initial screen for over 1.5 million program entrants annually.

To allow students who miss the PSAT due to legitimate reasons, such as illness, NMSC has a process known as alternate entry. Students must make a written request to NMSC for an alternate entry application form.

Key Stages of the Competition

The National Merit Scholarship Program unfolds in several stages, each with specific requirements and recognition levels.

Commended Student: In the spring of the junior year, NMSC determines a national Selection Index qualifying score for "Commended" recognition. This score is calculated each year to include students at approximately the 96th percentile (top 50,000 highest scorers). Up until 2016, scores in the 200s (out of 240) often qualified for recognition. With the New SAT and PSAT format and grading system, which is out of 228, qualifying scores for commendation are about 207, but qualifying levels change annually depending on how the top approximately 50,000 high scorers fared.

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The Commended cutoff for future classes becomes unofficially known in the April after the PSAT. Compass has published the cutoffs for the class of 2024 and estimates for the class of 2025. An historical archive dating back more than 15 years can be found here.
Semifinalist: In early September of the senior year, NMSC determines Selection Index qualifying scores for further recognition by state (including DC, US Territories and Commonwealths, and students enrolled in schools outside the US) and US boarding schools (by geographic region). Approximately 16,000 of the 50,000 are recognized as National Merit Semifinalists in this process.
The emphasis on “verbal” skills has a long history with the NMSP. Although you can use the Compass projections to estimate whether you are likely to qualify as a Commended Student or Semifinalist, there is no way of knowing your official status until high schools are notified by NMSC in early September of your senior year (sometimes schools hear by late August).
Territories are eligible. Period. NMSC provides information only to schools until a student becomes a Finalist. Some schools let students know their status in early September. Many schools wait until NMSC officially releases student names to the press in the second week of September.
While Semifinalist status is a nice award to list on your application, you should not expect it alone to have a significant impact on your admission chances at most colleges. The recognition tells college that you did well on the PSAT. Your SAT and ACT scores are far more important to colleges; your National Merit status does not add much new information. However, having a high number of enrolled Semifinalists is seen as a badge of honor at some colleges and will factor in their admission decisions.

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Finalist: Semifinalists must fulfill additional requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition to be considered for a scholarship. Approximately 15,000 of the 16,000 Semifinalists advance to Finalist standing by submitting SAT scores that confirm the earlier PSAT/NMSQT performance, having an outstanding academic record, and being endorsed and recommended by a high school official. They must also submit an application that includes high school courses and grades, extracurricular and volunteer activities, and a self-descriptive essay. The information that is collected about each Semifinalist is used later in the process to choose scholarship winners.
Semifinalists will receive login credentials for the Finalist application portal. You will need to provide background information and an essay. NMSC may change the prompt in future years, but it has been the same for many years. It is broad enough that most students are able to use or slightly rework their Common App essay. “To help the reviewers get to know you, describe an experience you have had, a person who has influenced you, or an obstacle you have overcome. Explain why this is meaningful to you. There is not a word limit specified, but the essay must fit within the provided space (approximately 3500 characters).
Scholarship Recipient: Of the 15,000 Finalists, about 8,000 receive Merit Scholarship awards. All Finalists are considered for one of the 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships.

Understanding the Selection Index

The Selection Index is a crucial component of the NMSP, determining eligibility for various recognition levels. The Selection Index is double the sum of your Reading and Writing (RW) score, and Math score divided by 10. Alternatively, you can simply drop the last zero on your section scores, double the RW and add the Math. For example, a student with scores of 690 RW and 720 M would have a Selection Index of 69 x 2 + 72 = 210. You cannot directly calculate a Selection Index from a Total Score (320 - 1520).

For students entering the competition with an SAT score through Alternate Entry, note that - when calculating a Selection Index - each SAT section is capped at 760.

Confirming Score

The confirming score is determined each year by NMSC and is calculated in the same way as the PSAT Selection Index. The confirming score is set nationally, so it does not matter what Semifinalist cutoff you met. The easiest calculation of the SSI is from your section scores. Drop a zero, double your RW, and add your Math score. For example, Student X might have a total score of 1450, with section scores of 720 RW and 730 M. Student X’s SSI would be 2(72) + 73 = 217. It’s possible for a student with a lower total score to have a higher SSI. Student Y has a total score of 1430, with section scores of 750 ERW and 690 M. You cannot determine your SSI directly from your total score. One student scoring 1400 might have a high enough SSI, whereas another student with a 1400 might fall short.

Using ACT Scores

NMSC wants to have a level playing field, so it converts components of the ACT score into an SAT Selection Index. In order to do that, you need to use the official concordance tables published by ACT/College Board. There is no SAT Science, so NMSC does not look at ACT Science. Step 2: Use the ACT E+R to SAT RW concordance table to find the concordant SAT RW score based on the sum in step 1. Be sure that you are going in the correct direction when using the concordance tables. Step 4: Calculate your SAT SI: drop the last zeros (i.e. divide by 10), double your RW, and add your Math score. A student has ACT scores of 32E, 34M, 33R, and 31S. Science is not used. The sum of E and R is 65. In the concordance tables, this is equivalent to a 700 RW. The 34 Math is concordant to a 760.

You can use any SAT or ACT score from the fall of your sophomore year to December of your senior year. This means that you could have received an SAT confirming score even before taking the PSAT/NMSQT.

NMSC does not automatically know your SAT and ACT scores. You must submit them just as you would to a college. The College Board code for NMSC is 0085. The ACT code is 7984. Please verify these codes before submitting.

State-by-State Variation

The Selection Index qualifying scores for Semifinalist standing vary from state to state and from year to year. Each state is allocated a percentage of Semifinalists based on the percentage of that state's graduating seniors out of the nation's total. For example, California sees approximately 2,100 Semifinalists each year-the most in the country. It gets 13% of Semifinalists because it produces approximately 13% of high school graduates.

Two things that have impact on cutoffs are participation rates and demographics. In some states, ACT is the dominant test and not as many students take the PSAT. This leaves some students out of the competition and will tend to produce lower cutoffs. Some states have large pockets of extremely qualified students and are particularly competitive. For example, Massachusetts and New Jersey have class of 2024 cutoffs of 222 and 223, respectively. At the other end of the spectrum, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming had NMSF cutoffs of 207 for the class of 2024. The minimum Semifinalist cutoff for a state is the national Commended level.

Homeschoolers are treated no differently than other students in a state. students studying abroad will have to meet the highest state cutoff in the country. For the class of 2024, that was 223. Boarding school cutoffs are the most complex to calculate. Instead of being set at the state level, they are determined regionally. A Northeast boarding school student, for example, must meet the highest cutoff of any state within the Northeast region. NMSC defines boarding schools as schools with predominantly out-of-state students. NMSC has made this part of the process easier to understand than it was in the past.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation does not release to the public the minimum qualifying score required per state. Principals communicate these results to their students, though some misread the NMSC materials and do not release them until the NMSC press release, which comes in mid-September.

Requirements to Advance to Finalist Standing

Semifinalists must fulfill additional requirements and advance to the finalist level of the competition to be considered for a scholarship. Approximately 15,000 of the 16,000 Semifinalists advance to Finalist standing by submitting SAT scores that confirm the earlier PSAT/NMSQT performance, having an outstanding academic record, and being endorsed and recommended by a high school official. They must also submit an application that includes high school courses and grades, extracurricular and volunteer activities, and a self-descriptive essay. The information that is collected about each Semifinalist is used later in the process to choose scholarship winners.

As part of the application, you must meet citizenship requirements, have a satisfactory academic record, achieve a confirming score on the SAT or ACT (and submit the scores to NMSC!), write an essay, and receive a recommendation from your principal. More information can be found in the PSAT/NMSQT Student Guide.

Types of Scholarships

Only about half of Finalists become National Merit Scholars and receive a National Merit Scholarship. There are three types of scholarships for Finalists, each with its own criteria. A student can only receive one type of scholarship.

College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship Awards: Approximately 4,000 Finalists receive scholarships from sponsoring colleges with renewable stipends of $500-$2,500 per year. Students must be accepted by a sponsoring institution and list the college as first choice in order to receive a college-sponsored award. These awards are not transferable to another college.
In order to receive a college-sponsored scholarship, you must note the college as your first choice on the National Merit application. It can be to your advantage not to immediately choose a first-choice college-you can leave it as “Undecided.” You do not want to miss out on a large scholarship because you have listed the wrong college. There is no reason to list a college that does not provide National Merit Scholarships. List your first-choice among college that do provide scholarships.
Corporate-Sponsored Merit Scholarship Awards: Corporations sponsor approximately 1,000 awards for Finalists each year with a minimum one-time value of $2,500 or $1,000 renewable. Most of these awards are to Finalists who are the children of employees. Technically, these students cannot be National Merit Scholars, but approximately 1,100 of them will receive Special Scholarships from sponsoring corporations.
National Merit $2500 Scholarships: Approximately 2,500 students receive awards of $2,500 directly from National Merit. These awards are highly competitive and are allocated proportionally by state. National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners are the finalists in each state judged to have the strongest combination of accomplishments, skills, and potential for success in rigorous college studies. The number of winners named in each state is proportional to the state's percentage of the nation's graduating high school seniors.
These Scholars were selected by a committee of college admissions officers and high school counselors, who appraised a substantial amount of information submitted by both the finalists and their high schools: the academic record, including difficulty level of subjects studied and grades earned; scores from two standardized tests; contributions and leadership in school and community activities; an essay written by the finalist; and a recommendation written by a high school official.
NMSC's own funds support the majority of these awards but corporate sponsors help underwrite these awards with grants they provide to NMSC in lieu of paying administrative fees.

Additional College Awards

Colleges can also choose to provide additional awards to National Merit Finalists. These are not technically National Merit Scholarships, but they can be the most important awards for many students. Which colleges offer these awards and how much they offer can change from year to year. In recent years, Florida has had a generous scholarship program for National Merit Finalists, and schools such as UT-Dallas and Texas A&M also provide substantial awards. Compass does not maintain a database of scholarships.

Important Notes

You will be notified of scholarship status sometime between March and June of your senior year.
No. Even if your scores are high enough, you will not be eligible for National Merit as a sophomore unless you will be graduating a year early.
To receive a scholarship payment, a Merit Scholarship winner must (a) notify NMSC of plans to enroll in a college or university in the United States that holds accredited status with a regional accrediting commission on higher education, and (b) plan to enroll full-time in an undergraduate course of study leading to a traditional baccalaureate degree. NMSC scholarship stipends are not payable for attendance at United States service academies, distance learning programs, and certain institutions that are limited in their purposes or training.

Criticism and Concerns

FairTest (National Center for Fair and Open Testing) has voiced concerns about the level of transparency in the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's selection process.

NACAC charged that eliminating 99 percent of test-takers from the National Merit Scholarship competition solely on the basis of a multiple-choice, standardized exam was "at odds with best practices in the use of admissions test scores".

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