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Scholarships and challenges Academic

National Merit Scholarship Program

The scholarship competition you enter by sitting the PSAT/NMSQT in your junior year, whether you meant to or not.

Run by National Merit Scholarship Corporation

Official website How to prepare Reviews and tips

Key facts

Eligible grades
Enrolled as a high school student, traditional or homeschooled, progressing normally toward graduation by 2028 and planning to accept college admission no later than autumn 2028.
In practice this means taking the PSAT/NMSQT in your third year of grades 9 to 12. Students who complete grades 9 to 12 in three years or less may qualify while in their first year of college.
Source, checked 2026-09-02
Eligible ages
Not confirmed. This organiser may set eligibility by grade rather than age. We do not convert one into the other.
NMSC sets eligibility by enrolment and graduation year, not age.
Individual or team
Individual
Where it runs
In person · United States
Entry cost
The PSAT/NMSQT fee, often paid by the schoolNMSC charges no entry fee, but the PSAT/NMSQT itself may carry a fee set by your school; many schools and states cover it.
Registration deadline
For the 2028 program, all requests to update records with NMSC must be submitted no later than 15 October 2027. 52 days leftThe practical deadline that matters first is your school's PSAT/NMSQT registration in the autumn, which schools set individually.
Competition dates
The competition spans about 18 months. For the 2028 program: PSAT/NMSQT in October 2026, principals verify eligibility in spring 2027, Commended Students and Semifinalists named in September 2027, and scholarships awarded in spring 2028.
Difficulty
Highly competitiveNational-level field. Expect months of structured work, and usually a coach or a strong team.
Prizes
$2,500 National Merit Scholarships plus corporate and college-sponsored awardsAwards include National Merit $2500 Scholarships plus corporate- and college-sponsored Merit Scholarships and Special Scholarships. No student may receive more than one monetary award from NMSC. Scholarships may be used only at a US college or university holding accredited status. College choice is not considered in Finalist selection or in awarding the $2500 scholarships. Exact 2028 award counts were not published at the time of checking.

What National Merit Scholarship Program is

The National Merit Scholarship Program is entered automatically by taking the PSAT/NMSQT in your third year of high school. Roughly 50,000 of the 1.4 million entrants are honoured each year, about 16,000 are named Semifinalists on a state-by-state basis, around 15,000 of those advance to Finalist, and about 6,700 receive a scholarship. Entry is a by-product of sitting the PSAT/NMSQT, and NMSC reports roughly 1.2 million entrants a year, which makes it the largest programme in this directory by participation.

How the competition works

The qualifying test is the PSAT/NMSQT. The PSAT 10 and PSAT 8/9 are NOT considered for entry. Entry also depends on answering the entry-requirements questions correctly during exam setup: the NMSC section of your score report shows your responses and whether your Selection Index will be considered. If it says you do not meet entry requirements, you may have missed or misanswered those questions and can correct them at nationalmerit.org/studentupdate.

Eligibility notes

You must be enrolled in your last year of high school when competing, plan to enrol full time in college the following autumn, attend school in the United States, its district or its commonwealths and territories, or meet the citizenship requirements for students schooled abroad. Students who complete grades 9 to 12 in three years or fewer follow a modified timeline.

Is National Merit Scholarship Program right for you?

Experience needed
None beyond ordinary school coursework. You are already entered if you sit the test.
Time commitment
Whatever PSAT preparation you choose, plus a few evenings on the application if you advance.
What you actually do
You sit a standardised test you were probably taking anyway. If your score clears your state's threshold, the real work is an application in the autumn of senior year: an essay, a transcript, a recommendation and a confirming SAT or ACT score.

A good fit if

  • You are a strong standardised test taker
  • You want a competition that costs almost nothing to enter
  • You are applying to universities that offer large automatic scholarships to Finalists

Probably not for you if

  • Students who want a subject competition rather than a general aptitude test
  • Students who have already passed grade 11

Compare this against competitions matched to you

Common mistakes

  • Not taking the PSAT/NMSQT in grade 11. The grade 10 sitting does not enter you, and this is the most common way students lose the opportunity entirely.
  • Assuming Semifinalist status is automatic progression. Around a thousand Semifinalists a year fail to reach Finalist, usually by missing the confirming SAT or ACT score or an application deadline.
  • Comparing your score to national percentiles. Semifinalist thresholds are set per state and vary by several points, so a score that qualifies in one state will not in another.
  • Overlooking college-sponsored awards, which are frequently renewable and worth far more over four years than the one-time $2,500 award.

How to register

  1. Confirm with your school counsellor when the PSAT/NMSQT is being administered and make sure you are registered for it in grade 11. This is the entire entry process.
  2. Check your PSAT/NMSQT score report, which states whether you met the programme entry requirements.
  3. If your school notifies you of Semifinalist standing in September of senior year, complete the scholarship application promptly, including the essay and the principal's recommendation.
  4. Take the SAT or ACT and submit a confirming score to the Corporation. Semifinalists are withdrawn for missing this step.

Register on the official site

What skills you need

  • Standardised test technique
  • Reading comprehension and mathematics under time pressure
  • Reflective essay writing
  • Meeting administrative deadlines

How to prepare

The Selection Index that decides recognition is derived from your PSAT/NMSQT reading, writing and mathematics scores, so preparation is straightforward standardised test practice. What makes this competition unusual is that the threshold is a state-level cutoff you cannot know in advance, which means the sensible strategy is to maximise the score rather than to aim at a target.

What to study

The Selection Index
Recognition depends on this derived score, not the raw total. Understand how it is calculated so you know which sections carry weight.
Reading and writing
For most students this is where the Selection Index is won or lost, because the mathematics ceiling is easier to reach.
Mathematics
Content through early algebra and geometry, tested under tight time pressure. Speed matters more than depth.
The Finalist application
An essay, an academic record and a principal's recommendation. Treat the essay as seriously as a college essay, because the same kind of committee reads it.
The confirming score
An SAT or ACT score that corroborates your PSAT performance, submitted to the Corporation. Purely administrative and routinely missed.

Full preparation guide, including a week-by-week plan

Recommended resources

Past problems and materials

Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.

Frequently asked questions

How do I enter?

By taking the PSAT/NMSQT in the autumn of grade 11. There is no separate application. Entry happens automatically when you sit the test, which is why so many students are entered without realising it.

What score do I need?

It depends on your state. Semifinalists are allocated on a state-representational basis, so the Selection Index threshold differs by several points between states and is not published in advance by the Corporation. Commended Student status uses a single national cutoff.

Is the scholarship really only $2,500?

The National Merit $2,500 Scholarship is a one-time award, but most awards in the programme come from around 260 corporate sponsors and universities rather than from the Corporation itself. College-sponsored awards are often renewable across four years and can be worth substantially more.

What if I could not take the PSAT?

A student prevented from testing by illness or another emergency may in some circumstances enter by submitting an SAT score instead. Contact the National Merit Scholarship Corporation directly, since this route is not widely known.

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