In order to be eligible for the National Merit Scholarship Program, a student must:
take the PSAT/NMSQT during his or her 3rd year (junior year) of high school,
be in high school and plan to enroll in college full time by the fall after his or her high school graduation, and
be a U.S. citizen or a permanent U.S. resident with the intention of becoming a U.S. citizen. If a student meets these requirements, he or she will automatically be eligible to participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSP).
Of the about 1.5 million juniors who take the PSAT/NMSQT each year, approximately 50,000 juniors with the highest PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index scores (or total PSAT scores) who meet the eligibility requirements described above qualify for NMSP recognition. That is, roughly the top 3% of 11th grade testers will qualify. Note that the Selection Index qualifying scores vary from year to year and state to state, as students are selected for NMSP recognition from each of the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. During the April following the PSAT/NMSQT administration, these 50,000 students are invited to select two colleges to which the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) will provide a reference.
During the September following the PSAT/NMSQT administration, approximately 2/3 of those 50,000 students will receive Letters of Commendation recognizing their academic abilities and potential. Commended students are not eligible for National Merit scholarships. The remaining 1/3 of the 50,000 students qualify as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists.
Once a student qualifies as a Semifinalist, he or she must complete the National Merit Scholarship Application and submit it to the NMSC in order to move on to the next round of qualifications (Finalist) and to be considered for a National Merit Scholarship. Additionally, if he or she has not yet taken the SAT and had those scores reported to the NMSC, he or she must do so in October, November, or December of his or her senior year.
During the February of senior year, NMSC will notify those Semifinalists who have qualified as Finalists. Of the roughly 16,000 students who qualify as Semifinalists, about 15,000 of them will qualify as Finalists. Of those 15,000 Finalists, approximately 8,200 of them will be selected for Merit Scholarships, which can be a National Merit Scholarship, a Corporate-Sponsored Merit Scholarship, or a College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship. Scholarships are awarded based on skills, abilities, and accomplishments as exhibited through a student’s application materials.
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