The National Merit Scholarship Program ​& the PSAT

How to Become a National Merit Scholarship Finalist

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The 2026 PSAT/NMSQT is the qualifying test for entry into the 2028 National Merit® Scholarship Program. Earning a top PSAT/NMSQT score and winning a National Merit Scholarship can mean thousands of dollars each year towards college, which can make a big dent in tuition. This guide will walk you through the intricacies of the National Merit Scholarship Program, outlining the various scholarship types, eligibility requirements, and the selection process. Learn what it takes to become a National Merit Scholarship Finalist.

[ READ NEXT: What Is a Good PSAT score? ]

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

What is the National Merit Scholarship Program?

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an annual academic competition offered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). To enter the National Merit Scholarship Program and compete for the scholarships offered in 2028, high school students must take the PSAT/NMSQT in October 2026 and meet other program entry requirements (detailed below). National Merit Scholarship winners are chosen based on their skills, abilities, and accomplishments. Competition for these scholarships is fierce, which is why earning a good PSAT score is so important.

What are the different types of National Merit Scholarships?

There are several types of National Merit Scholarships, including:

  • National Merit $2,500 Scholarships

    All National Merit Scholarship Finalists compete for these single-payment $2,500 scholarships. They are awarded on a state-representational basis to students who demonstrate exceptional academic achievements, strong personal qualities, leadership skills, well-defined goals, and other distinctive characteristics that set them apart as Merit Scholars.

  • Corporate-Sponsored Merit Scholarships

    Corporate sponsors offer scholarships to National Merit Program Finalists who are children of their employees, residents of a community where the corporation has operations, or to other students with career plans the sponsor wants to encourage. Each year, sponsors announce their programs, determine eligibility, and pay scholarship costs. The number of scholarships a business or foundation offers ranges from one to more than a hundred. These National Merit scholarships can be one-time awards or renewable for four years of undergraduate study.

  • Corporate-Sponsored Special Scholarships

    Many of the program’s corporate sponsors also provide Special Scholarships that are separate from the National Merit corporate scholarships described above. Organizations that sponsor Special Scholarships make Entry Forms available to children of employees or to students with qualifications of interest to the sponsor. These candidates are the highest-scoring students who filed Entry Forms with the sponsoring organization but were not named National Merit Program Finalists. NMSC sends Special Scholarship application materials to these candidates through their high schools.

  • College-Sponsored Merit Scholarships

    Winners of college-sponsored merit scholarships are National Merit Scholarship Finalists who have been admitted to the college or university and have informed NMSC that the sponsoring college is their first choice by the deadlines. These scholarships are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.

National Merit Scholarship Values & Notification Timeline

The table below lists the monetary values of each type of National Merit Scholarship and includes information on when winners will be notified of their scholarship offer.

ScholarshipValuePayment FrequencyDate of Notification to Winners
National Merit $2500 Scholarships$2,500One-time paymentLate March
Corporate-Sponsored Merit ScholarshipsVaries by sponsor—ranges from one-time payments between $2,500 to $10k or renewable awards from $1k to $10k per yearVaries by sponsor—can be one-time payments or renewable awardsEarly March
Corporate-Sponsored Special ScholarshipsVaries by sponsor—ranges from one-time payments between $2,500 to $10k or renewable awards from $1k to $10k per yearVaries by sponsor—can be one-time payments or renewable awardsEarly March
College-Sponsored Merit ScholarshipsAwards range from $500 to $2k per yearRenewable for four years at the sponsoring collegeEarly May

How many scholarship winners will there be in the 2028 competition?

Beginning in March 2028, NMSC will notify winners of National Merit Scholarships. 50,000 entrants will qualify for program recognition, and there will be approximately 7,320 scholarship winners. Various amounts of scholarship money will be offered, but no student can receive more than one monetary award from the NMSC.

Requirements for the National Merit Scholarship Competition

There are several requirements all students must meet to be eligible to compete for National Merit scholarships. To enter the 2028 National Merit Scholarship Program, students must:

  • Take the PSAT/NMSQT in October 2026 (for the 2028 competition)
  • Take the PSAT/NMSQT in the specified year of the high school program and no later than the third year in grades 9 through 12, regardless of grade classification or educational pattern
  • Be enrolled as a high school student (traditional or homeschooled)
  • Be on track to graduate by the end of the academic year in 2028
  • Plan to enroll full-time in college in the fall of 2028
  • Meet citizenship/residency requirements

Please note that these are the basic requirements, and further details can be found on the NMSC website.

Requirements to Become a National Merit Scholarship Finalist

If you think you might make it to Semifinalist status, congrats! There are a few more steps you will need to go through to become a Finalist. First, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation will contact you if you make it that far. In order to qualify as a Finalist, you must:

  • Meet all program entry requirements
  • Be enrolled in the last year of high school and plan to enroll full-time in college the following fall OR be enrolled in the first year of college if you completed grades 9–12 in three years or less
  • Be fully endorsed for Finalist standing and recommended for a National Merit Scholarship by your high school principal
  • Have a record of very high academic performance in all of grades 9 through 12 and in any college coursework taken
  • Complete the National Merit Scholarship Application, which includes writing an essay
  • Take the SAT or ACT and earn scores comparable to your Semifinalist PSAT score
  • Provide any other documentation and information that the National Merit Scholarship Corporation requests

How many students qualify for National Merit recognition?

Each year, of the top 50,000 scoring PSAT test-takers, 34,000 receive Letters of Commendation from the National Merit program, and 16,000 students qualify as Semifinalists. The cutoff score for Semifinalists varies by state and by year. Semifinalists are invited to complete the National Merit Scholarship Application, which includes writing an essay.

Of the 16,000 Semifinalists, about 15,000 will become Finalists. About half of the Finalists will eventually be chosen as Merit Scholarship winners. According to the National Merit Scholarship Program, “scholarship recipients are the candidates judged to have the greatest potential for success in rigorous college studies and beyond.”

What score do you need to become a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist?

The PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index score is a number used by the NMSC to consider students for the National Merit Scholarship Program. Your Selection Index score is calculated by doubling your PSAT/NMSQT Reading and Writing score, adding it to your Math score, and then dividing the total by 10. You can also use this formula: (2RW + M) ÷ 10. The College Board includes your Selection Index score on your PSAT/NMSQT score report. You will see an asterisk next to the National Merit Selection Index score if you are not eligible for the National Merit Scholarship Program.

The score you need to become a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist depends on the state in which you live. Each state has a preset number of Semifinalists, and once scores come in for students, the cutoff score for that year in that state is determined. Regardless of the exact cutoff score for your state, all of the students who qualify earn high scores—less than the top 1% of high school students advance to become Semifinalists.

National Merit Semifinalist Cutoff Scores by State

Review the 2027 National Merit Semifinalist cutoff scores by state. These are cutoff scores for test-takers who took the 2025 PSAT/NMSQT. Note that cutoff scores for 2026 PSAT/NMSQT test-takers won’t be released until PSAT scores are back.

  • Alabama: 210
  • Alaska: 208
  • Arizona: 215
  • Arkansas: 210
  • California: 220
  • Colorado: 217
  • Connecticut: 220
  • Delaware: 219
  • D.C.: 223
  • Florida: 216
  • Georgia: 217
  • Hawaii: 218
  • Idaho: 211
  • Illinois: 218
  • Indiana 215
  • Iowa: 210
  • Kansas: 212
  • Kentucky: 211
  • Louisiana: 211
  • Maine: 214
  • Maryland: 221
  • Massachusetts: 221
  • Michigan: 216
  • Minnesota: 214
  • Mississippi: 211
  • Missouri: 214
  • Montana: 208
  • Nebraska: 212
  • Nevada: 211
  • New Hampshire: 215
  • New Jersey: 223
  • New Mexico: 209
  • New York: 220
  • North Carolina: 217
  • North Dakota: 208
  • Ohio: 216
  • Oklahoma: 210
  • Oregon: 216
  • Pennsylvania: 219
  • Rhode Island: 213
  • South Carolina: 212
  • South Dakota: 210
  • Tennessee: 214
  • Texas: 219
  • Utah: 209
  • Vermont: 212
  • Virginia: 221
  • Washington: 221
  • West Virginia: 208
  • Wisconsin: 212
  • Wyoming: 208

Other cutoff scores:

  • U.S. citizens studying abroad: 223
  • U.S. territories: 208

Written by Kaplan experts, reviewed by Melissa McLaughlin, Pre-College Content Developer and Heather Waite, Director of Content and Curriculum, Pre-College.

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