Qualifying for National Merit Scholarships

Answer 1

National Merit Scholarships are for United States students who show academic excellence and potential high level performance in college. National Merit Scholarships are privately funded non-governmental scholarships that are awarded by the non-profit National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). Scholarship awards are distributed to students who are ranked as Finalists, based on their academic record and their scores on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT). Most students take the PSAT during their junior year of high school. Taking the PSAT is the first step to qualifying for a scholarship. The National Merit Scholarship award is awarded to about 7500 new Finalists each spring. There are in addition special scholarship awards and sponsored awards from colleges and corporations that support the NMSC. The competition to become a Finalist is fierce, and takes into account not only scores on the PSAT, but students’ academic and personal achievements. Interested high school students should see their high school adviser or guidance counselor at the beginning of their junior year in order to arrange to take the PSAT. The PSAT is administered by high schools, usually, in October, for competitions awarded in spring of the following school year. Students taking the test in the fall of 2014, for instance, would be attempting to qualify for scholarships awarded in 2016, when they would start college as freshmen. Even if your school has you take the PSAT in your sophomore year, you will need to re-take the test in your junior year to qualify for National Merit Scholarships. If you are planning on enrolling in college early, you can still take the test and qualify to compete for scholarships, as this page on Entering The Competition (http://www.nationalmerit.org/entering.php) explains. NMSC is automatically sent copies of students’ PSAT scores. When you receive your Score Report after taking the PSAT, NMSC indicates on the the score report if your scores meet entry requirements for the National Merit Scholarships. Your scores are ranked nationally with other students. Students with high scores are notified through their high schools that they have qualified as either a Commended Student or Semifinalist. Commended students do not continue to compete for NMSC awards, but they may qualify for special scholarships later in the year (http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php#progrec). NMSC sends scholarship application materials to students (via their high schools) whose scores qualify them as Semifinalists in each state, based on their rank and scores. Students who qualify as Semifinalists and meet academic and other standards to advance to the Finalist level compete for scholarships. The decision to award scholarships to Finalists is based on their academic record, the school's curricula and grading system, two sets of test scores, a written recommendation from their high school, information about the student's activities and leadership, and the Finalist's own essay. It’s not to early to ask your high school adviser about the PSAT. The NMSC site has a great deal of information about the process, including a student guide. The official student guide for 2014 (http://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdf) describes the exam, and explains who should take it, and when. National Merit Scholarships are for United States students who show academic excellence and potential high level performance in college. National Merit Scholarships are privately funded non-governmental scholarships that are awarded by the non-profit National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). Scholarship awards are distributed to students who are ranked as Finalists, based on their academic record and their scores on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT). Most students take the PSAT during their junior year of high school. Taking the PSAT is the first step to qualifying for a scholarship. The National Merit Scholarship award is awarded to about 7500 new Finalists each spring. There are in addition special scholarship awards and sponsored awards from colleges and corporations that support the NMSC. The competition to become a Finalist is fierce, and takes into account not only scores on the PSAT, but students’ academic and personal achievements.

Interested high school students should see their high school adviser or guidance counselor at the beginning of their junior year in order to arrange to take the PSAT. The PSAT is administered by high schools, usually, in October, for competitions awarded in spring of the following school year. Students taking the test in the fall of 2014, for instance, would be attempting to qualify for scholarships awarded in 2016, when they would start college as freshmen. Even if your school has you take the PSAT in your sophomore year, you will need to re-take the test in your junior year to qualify for National Merit Scholarships. If you are planning on enrolling in college early, you can still take the test and qualify to compete for scholarships, as this page on Entering The Competition (http://www.nationalmerit.org/entering.php) explains.

NMSC is automatically sent copies of students’ PSAT scores. When you receive your Score Report after taking the PSAT, NMSC indicates on the the score report if your scores meet entry requirements for the National Merit Scholarships. Your scores are ranked nationally with other students. Students with high scores are notified through their high schools that they have qualified as either a Commended Student or Semifinalist. Commended students do not continue to compete for NMSC awards, but they may qualify for special scholarships later in the year (http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php#progrec). NMSC sends scholarship application materials to students (via their high schools) whose scores qualify them as Semifinalists in each state, based on their rank and scores. Students who qualify as Semifinalists and meet academic and other standards to advance to the Finalist level compete for scholarships. The decision to award scholarships to Finalists is based on their academic record, the school's curricula and grading system, two sets of test scores, a written recommendation from their high school, information about the student's activities and leadership, and the Finalist's own essay.

It’s not to early to ask your high school adviser about the PSAT. The NMSC site has a great deal of information about the process, including a student guide. The official student guide for 2014 (http://www.nationalmerit.org/student_guide.pdf) describes the exam, and explains who should take it, and when.