Below we cover the the most frequently asked questions about the National Merit Scholarship Program. Please see our National Merit Semifinalist Cutoffs page for the latest information on actual and projected Selection Index cutoffs by state.
What is the National Merit Scholarship Program and how do you enter?
The NMSP is a program administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation in cooperation with the College Board to recognize high achieving high school seniors. Some recognition levels are based purely on junior PSAT/NMSQT scores, while other levels have additional qualifications (explained below). The NMSC gives out approximately $50 million in scholarships each year, and some colleges provide lowered—or even free—tuition to recognized students, multiplying the net impact of National Merit severalfold.
You must take the PSAT/NMSQT as a high school junior and either attend high school in the United States or U.S. Territories or be a U.S. student studying abroad. On your PSAT score report, you will see a section with your Selection Index and how you answered the questions about your entry eligibility. If there is an asterisk next to your Selection Index, it means that NMSC believes that you are ineligible.
What if I couldn’t take the PSAT?
Every year students miss the PSAT for legitimate reasons such as illness. To allow those students the opportunity to compete in National Merit, NMSC has a process known as alternate entry. Students must make a written request to NMSC for an alternate entry application form. The application itself must be signed off on by your principal or counselor and postmarked no later than April 1 after the missed PSAT/NMSQT.
What is the Selection Index?
The Selection Index is a weighting of your PSAT component scores to determines the level of your recognition within the initial stages of the National Merit program.
How is the Selection Index calculated?
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. If, for example, you have a 700 RW and 800 Math, your Selection Index would be 70 x2 + 76 = 216.
Why is the Reading and Writing twice as important as the Math?
The emphasis on “verbal” skills has a long history with the NMSP. The digital PSAT no longer has separate Reading and Writing scores, but the RW score is still doubled.
I’ve already received my PSAT scores; how can I find out whether I will qualify for recognition?
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). 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. The Commended cutoff for future classes becomes unofficially known in the April after the PSAT. Compass will report this score and how it may impact Semifinalist cutoffs on our regularly updated cutoffs post.
Will I qualify as a Semifinalist if I am in the 99th percentile for Selection Index according to my score report?
Although approximately 1% of test takers will become Semifinalists, there are a number of reasons why percentile scores are far too inaccurate to determine eligibility. Even the state percentiles that are now on the digital SAT report do not have enough information, because they are actually based on the prior 3 years of scores. Further, the percentile is rounded, and not accurate enough to determine cutoffs.
Why do some states have more Semifinalists and Finalists than other states?
Although Commended Scholars are honored based on a single, national cutoff, NMSC distributes Semifinalists proportionally to states (and District of Columbia and U.S. Territories) based on the number of graduating students in the state. 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. Mississippi, on the other hand, typically sees about 135 National Merit Semifinalists, because the state produces a bit more than 0.8% of U.S. graduates. The distribution is completely unrelated to the number of students taking the PSAT in the state.
Why are Semifinalist cutoffs so much higher in some states than in others?
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. If, for example, the Commended cutoff is at 210, no state can have a Semifinalist cutoff less than 210.
How are Semifinalists set for homeschoolers, boarding school students, or U.S. students studying abroad?
Homeschoolers are treated no differently than other students in a state. U.S. 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 considers your state to be where you went to school when you took the PSAT, not your state of residency or the state of your new school.
Do I have to be a U.S. citizen to participate?
NMSC has made this part of the process easier to understand than it was in the past. Students at high school in the U.S. or in U.S. Territories are eligible. Period. Students studying abroad are eligible as long as they are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents of the U.S. (“green card”) or or have applied for permanent residence (the application for which has not been denied) and intend to become U.S. citizens at the earliest opportunity allowed by law.
Will NMSC notify me if I become a Semifinalist?
No. NMSC provides information only to schools until a student becomes a Finalist. Homeschoolers are the exception.
When will my school tell me?
NMSC mails information to schools in late August. 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. Compass will track all of the latest news on our Semifinalists cutoff page.
Will being a Semifinalist help get me into my first-choice college?
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. Some colleges have programs specifically to attract National Merit Finalists and offer large merit awards.
Do I need to take the SAT to become a Semifinalist?
No. Commended Student and Semifinalist recognition are based only on your Selection Index and your entry eligibility.
What happens after I am named a Semifinalist?
Semifinalists will receive login credentials for the Finalist application portal. You will need to provide background information and an essay. Your school will need to provide its recommendation and electronically submit your application in the second week of October,
What is the National Merit Finalist essay prompt?
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. For the class of 2024, the prompt was:
“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. Use your own words and limit your response to the space provided.”
There is not a word limit specified, but the essay must fit within the provided space (approximately 3500 characters). Expect to keep your essay to 600 – 650 words.
Do I need to take the SAT or ACT to become a Finalist?
Among the requirements to proceed from Semifinalist to Finalist is that you receive a “confirming score.” This score helps validate that you can, on an official SAT or ACT test date, achieve a high score and confirm your testing skill.
Can a high ACT score be a confirming score?
Yes, the ACT can be used to confirm PSAT results.
How high of an SAT score do I need for a 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 confirming SAT Selection Index (SSI) generally falls at or near the Commended cutoff.
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. Student Y’s SSI would be 2(75) + 69 = 219.
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. You must know your RW and Math scores.
How high of an ACT score do I need for a confirming score?
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. So discard that score.
Step 1: Add your ACT English and ACT Reading scores
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. ACT E+R to SAT RW is not always the same as SAT RW to ACT E+R.
Step 3: Use the ACT M to SAT M table to find the concordant SAT M score based on your ACT Math score.
Step 4: Calculate your SAT SI: drop the last zeros (i.e. divide by 10), double your RW, and add your Math score. You want this number to be at least as high as your class year’s Commended Student score.
Example:
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. This student’s SAT Selection Index is 70×2 + 76 = 216.
When do I have to take the SAT or ACT for the score to be ‘confirmed’?
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 recommends that you not wait until the December test date.
How do I submit scores to NMSC?
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. Since NMSC will use your highest scores, there is no penalty for choosing them as one of your free score recipients when you register for the SAT or ACT.
Can I superscore SAT or ACT dates in order to reach the confirming score cutoff?
No. NMSC will use your highest scores, but will not superscore across test dates.
If I have achieved a confirming score, is there any reason to shoot for a higher score?
The requirement for a confirming score is simply true or false when applying to become a Finalist. However, your test scores are used to evaluate you during the scholarship phase of the competition. Depending on your goals, you may want to optimize your score.
Can sophomores qualify for National Merit recognition?
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. In that case, you should contact NMSC or your principal about next steps as NMSC has no way of automatically knowing your eligibility.
Is it hard for a Semifinalist to become a Finalist?
Of the 16,000 Semifinalists, 15,000 become Finalists. You must go through an application process to proceed to Finalist level and then to compete for National Merit Scholarships. 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. In the Semifinalist letter from your school (it will NOT come from NMSC unless you are homeschooled), NMSC will provide details about how to begin the process online.
When will I find out if I am a Finalist?
You will be notified in February of senior year.
Do all Finalists receive scholarships? What is a National Merit Scholar?
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. 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. 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. Approximately 2,500 students receive awards of $2,500 directly from National Merit. These awards are highly competitive and are allocated proportionally by state. A list of sponsoring colleges and corporations can be found in the PSAT/NMSQT Student Guide.
I’ve heard about colleges that provide full-ride awards. Why are college-sponsored awards only listed as $500–$2,500 per year?
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. The National Merit forum at collegeconfidential.com is a useful resource.
Are scholarships available to Commended Students and Semifinalists?
Technically, these students cannot be National Merit Scholars, but approximately 1,100 of them will receive Special Scholarships from sponsoring corporations. As with other corporate-sponsored awards, these are predominantly for the children of employees, although companies can also identify students in a particular region or field of study.
When will I find out if I receive a scholarship?
You will be notified of scholarship status sometime between March and June of your senior year. 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. You can update your choice via the Online Scholarship Application portal.
Hello Art Sawyer, Thank you for this post. I would appreciate if you would answer this specific question:
For Florida the expected cut off for Year 2017 based on ‘NEW PSAT’ is around 215 ( range 214-217 ), My child selection index is 219. what are the chances of making in to Seminfinalist for 2017? All children above 217 will make it to Semifinalist?. Thanks
Anbu,
The only way for your student to miss the Semifinalist mark in Florida would be if the cutoff comes in at 220. I do not see any chance of that happening. Florida’s cutoff has bounced around far than most states’ scores over the last 7 years, but it has never been higher that it was for the class of 2016. So a) I don’t see some tectonic shift upward in Florida scores and b) states with a 214 cutoffs on the old PSAT are likely to average cutoffs of 215-216 on the new PSAT. Each point higher has a rapidly declining chance of happening.
Hi Art,
Thank you for your great educational posts.
We have a senior in TN with PSAT score of 221 and SAT score of 1500. From your predictions, it looks like she will make the semifinalist list. Is there any benefit in trying to retake the SAT to improve the SAT score – does it increase her chances of becoming a finalist or a scholar. She has a 34 on ACT and planning to apply to competitive colleges with the ACT score.
Your insight is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Antony
Antony,
The first part is easy to answer — it won’t impact her chance of becoming a Finalist. Her SAT score will be high enough as a confirming score (not yet set, but it won’t be close to 1500). As long as her grades are good, and she gets a thumbs up from her school, she’ll be a Finalist. The Scholar part is harder to answer. College scholarships, of course, are dependent on where she chooses to attend. If she hopes to pursue an NM Scholarship from a college, she’ll need to eventually list them as her first choice. Corporate-sponsored scholarships are similar to many scholarship competitions in that the committee looks at a variety of factors — testing, essay, grades, and recommendation. I don’t recommend that she retest for NMSC. Her testing is most important for admission, and I don’t think she should make a testing decision that puts anything above her admission goal. [So it she thinks she wants to improve her 1500, in general, it’s a different story.] If she is hoping to get significant money from a National Merit sponsoring college, then I would recommend looking more closely at their conditions. She is already in good shape for most.
Art,
I am wondering if you can shed some light on the Florida Incentive Scholarship that states if you are a National Merit Finalist you will receive basically a full ride to several Florida Colleges including University of Florida and Florida State University. My daughter has not yet heard from her GC at school but she received a 222 on the PSAT and currently has a 2230 on the old SAT and a 6.2 GPA. Just wondered if she has to be one of the 8,000 kids to receive this full ride or if it is automatic if she chooses FSU or UF as her top school. Just really unsure how this scholarship works. Your help is much appreciated! Thank you!
Amy,
I don’t want to pretend to be an expert here, but I’ve been trying to parse the bureaucratic language. There is mention that a student has to be a scholarship winner in order to get the FIS (now the Benacquisto Scholarship Program). My reading is that this can be either a corporate-sponsored scholarship or a college-sponsored scholarship. The difference is that with a corporate-sponsored scholarship, one can use the FIS/BSP at any eligible Florida institution. For a college-sponsored award, you need to list one of the 6 participating colleges as your first choice (and, obviously, you need to attend that college once accepted!). This seems to indicate that any eligible Florida NM Finalist can receive the FIS/BSP as long as they intend to attend Florida State University, New College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of Miami, or University of South Florida and designate the college as their first choice with NMSC. This seems like a great program for Florida students!
The 8,000 NM Scholars figure is simply the approximate sum of all corporate and college-sponsored awardees. There does not appear to be a cap on the number of Florida Finalists who can receive an award. So a) your daughter needs to qualify as a Finalist [that seems to be a lock] and b) she needs to decide on which participating institution she would like to attend. If she ends up qualifying for a corporate-sponsored scholarship, then she has added portability of her FIS/BSP award. You have probably seen the links to the official UF scholarship page and the BSP FAQ. The College Confidential forum on Financial Aid and Scholarships tends to be active on these topics (here is a thread). And congratulations!
Thank you so much for looking into this and clarifying. She really had her hopes on UNC but looks like this would be to good of an opportunity to pass up.
Art–Do you know if there is a specific grade requirement to move from semi-finalist to finalist? Or is the review more holistic, dependent on principal recommendations, etc.? Looks like my child will be NMSF with a 221 and his 1460 SAT should be a confirming score, but had a rough start in high school in terms of GPA. Any insight you can provide on a grades requirement is appreciated.
S,
There is no GPA cutoff or published requirements. NMSC says that students must “have a record of very high academic performance in all of grades 9 through 12 and in any college course work taken (the high school must provide a complete record of courses taken and grades earned by the student, as well as information about the school’s curriculum and grading system).” Anecdotally, I’ve heard that C’s can wreck a Finalist application. The best advice would be to go into the Finalist application with a positive attitude (much as you’ll be doing on college application) and make sure that the school fully supports your student (another Finalist requirement).
“These recipients need not be Finalists”
Does this mean that you can be a commended scholar and be awarded a corporate scholarship?
Corporate-sponsored scholarships can be National Merit Scholarships (Finalists only) or Special Scholarships (non-Finalists). There are fewer of the latter. Many of the corporate-sponsored awards are for the children of company employees. Some sponsors award scholarships to a set number of Finalists, some to all Finalists (within the eligible pool), and some to a set number of recipients (in which case the Finalists become National Merit Scholars and any other recipients are Special Scholarship winners). You can find out many more details in NMSC’s Official Student Guide.
Thank you for the information!
Thank you for your info. My daughter just learned she was a semifinalist. She opted for the ACT test, which she scored a 36 and the colleges she is looking at accept that test, so has not taken the SAT at this point. She went to register tonight and was not sure based on what she read if she needs to take the writing portion of the SAT. The qualifying score seems to be a calculation of certain parts of the SAT test. Does the writing section factor in? It was a bit unclear from what we read? Also is this test simply a confirming score or does the actual score end up factoring in as who has a better chance of being a winner?
“Writing” is a confusing word when it comes to the SAT, because there is a portion of EBRW that is Writing and Language (grammar) and then there is the essay, which many people still call “Writing.” The SAT Essay will absolutely not be used in calculating the confirming score for NM. She need not take the essay.
The answer to the second part is not quite as clear. In order to make Finalist, the score must simply meet or exceed the minimum score. During the scholarship phase of the competition, however, all parts of a Finalist’s “application” come into play in a holistic way. A score well above the minimum may provide a greater likelihood of success than a score just meeting the minimum.
Art,
My son had a SI of 218, and according to your confirmed state cut offs, just missed Georgia’s cut off of 219. This was incredibly disappointing and frustrating. When I called the HS guidance counselor at his school, she denied knowing anything about the cut off. Could this just be diplomacy ? Is she bound not to give out that info to anyone other than the student? Or could it be she didn’t know? Is there any window of opportunity that GA could be 218? I
Daria,
I can appreciate your disappointment given how well your son performed and how close he came. I don’t want to try too hard to second guess the counselor. Perhaps she has not yet received the packet from NMSC. Perhaps she wants to announce all results at the same time. What I can say is that schools should receive information about both Semifinalists and Commended Students. Your son is certainly Commended. Most counselors inform both Commended and SF students, so you should hear something from the school — possibly not before 9/14. We’ve received multiple confirmations that our 50 state figures are correct, I’m afraid.
Art, I called the National Merit corporation today (twice). They said they will not know the confirming score until December but do not think it will be above a “209”. It made no sense to me why they were giving a confirming score in SI index form. But I asked what this meant and they said to use the concordance tables to find out the confirming score. I confirmed that he was referring to this procedure for finding the confirming score for both the old SAT and the revised SAT. I honestly don’t know what this means and they did not want to explain. Can you decipher this? I cannot tell whetther my son needs tot lake the SAT again or not. Thanks!!
Art, in regard to a “confirming” SAT score for the 2017 competition: I spoke to NMSC today and was told that they would not be releasing an actual number to the public this year due to the issues with New SAT vs old SAT, etc. They did say that the confirming score was set to be commensurate with a Selection Index of 209. I am interested to know what New SAT score this would match with, as that is what my daughter took. Thank you, Kathy
Kathy,
Thank you for passing this along. Poster John got a similar response.
This policy strikes me as irresponsible. It’s exactly because of all the confusion that NMSC should speak up. If it were just about receiving or not receiving a nice honor, this coyness would be no crime. But given some of the school sponsored scholarships available, some students are making testing and re-testing decisions that could mean tens of thousands of dollars. [Keep in mind that most corporate and school sponsored scholarships are more modest at $2,500.]
We are back to reading tea leaves, so let me take my best shot. Their (non) answer seems to confirm that 1400 is the highest that would be required (and it could be lower). That corresponds to a 210 SI assuming an even split of scores. It’s possible that they would even use the SAT score to calculate an SI. PSAT scores and SAT scores are on a common scale, so a 690 EBRW and 710 Math on the new SAT could be thought of as a 209 SI, for example. In past years, the confirming score was actually lower than the Commended cutoff. Will the same hold true this year? Is a 205 commensurate with a 209? Finally, there is the issue of concordance. Will they concord back to the old SAT or forward to the new SAT?
My advice is to err on the conservative. I think a new SAT score will be sufficient if it has an SI-equivalent of 209 or better. I think the best bet with old SAT scores is to use concordance tables to convert to new SAT scores.
In case someone asks the obvious follow-up…
My “…1400 is the highest that would be required…” is inaccurate. If we assume that they *might* want to see an SAT that corresponds to an SI of 209, then the mix of EBRW and Math matters. For example, a 600 EBRW and 800 Math would be a 1400 Total Score but an SI of only 200. Are they looking at things this way? It’s impossible to know for sure, but the conservative play is to assume that you’ll need the greater of 1400 and an SAT SI of 209.
Thank you for the quick response, Art. I am still confused with the matching of SI 209 to an SAT score, not sure how to do that really. My daughter scored a 720 in EBRW and a 720 in math for a 1440 total. If I am reading your post correctly, this would be above what is needed to “confirm” her PSAT score.
Thank you very much, by the way for your clear posts during the whole “new” PSAT and SAT process, they have been very helpful.
The way to go from EBRW/M scores to SI is to drop the last 0 and simply calculate 2 x EBRW + Math. Does your daughter already have a new SAT score? [I’m assuming that her 1440 was on the PSAT.] Let’s say her SAT score was a 730 EBR and 720 Math or a 1450. Her SI equivalent would be 2 x 73 + 72 or 218.
Thank you!! An equation that I can understand a work with! Her score was for the new SAT, actually, so with the formula it turns into 2(72) + 72 = 3(72) = 216 for a SI equivalent. So she should be good to go with a 209 SI as the “confirming” number. I really appreciate the clear information, thank you!
If you’re a student attending a Dept. of Defense school, overseas, what state would one consider for the SI cut off score? Thank you!
Lori,
U.S. citizens living abroad must meet the cutoff for the state with the highest NMSF qualifying Selection Index — 222 for the class of 2017. I don’t know of an exception to students in DoD schools, but it might be worth a call to NMSC if the student is in the National Merit range.
Art,
I would hope they would be consistent on how they calculate the SI. The PSAT SI is based upon the test scores. It is (Reading score + Writing and Language Score + Math Score) x2. Those same scores are available for the SAT. This is a simple conversion that would match up. There is not need to concord anything!
Concordance comes into play because the old SAT is being accepted as a confirming score.
Now I understand. I was not looking at the old scores. I just figured they would use the old method for those. Son is a semifinalist in our state with a 218. His new SAT SI is 212. His ACT is what is going to be submitted to colleges. I guess we will roll the dice and hope we are ok with the 212 New SAT SI. Thanks for the insight.
That sure sounds safe. If you haven’t read it, you may want to scroll to the bottom of the cutoffs post and note the call that Mamelot had with NMSC (9/6/16 or 9/7). Sounds like they are trying to zero in on the right score but that it will be below 209.
Is there an additional step (beyond the student taking the qualifying psat) a school needs to make before a student is considered in the competition? We are being told by our school that they have not received a letter yet. Based on score, my daughter definitely qualifies as a semifinalist.
Nicole,
There is nothing for a student to do between the October PSAT and September announcement other than wait — everything happens through the school. In the spring, your daughter’s schools should have received a list of students getting 209 SIs and above and asked for more information about the students. This would have been confidential. Almost two weeks ago, NMSC sent out letters to schools telling them which students are Commended and which are Semifinalists. It’s possible that the school’s letter has just been slow to arrive. It’s also possible that “it’s still in the mail” is your counselor’s polite way of keeping a secret until the press release date of 9/14. You may want to double-check that there is an asterisk next to your daughter’s SI on her official PSAT score report. This indicates that the information NMSC has on file is that your daughter was a junior when she took the PSAT and met the appropriate citizenship requirements. Your best bet is to wait two more days to find out more. It certainly sounds like she is a Semifinalist in waiting. For the Finalist phase, your daughter will be in charge. She’ll get information from the school about how to get NMSC the application materials. She will want to have a sufficiently high old or new SAT score as a confirming score.
Hello, my name is Marshall. I scored a 750 on Math and 690 in English/Writing back in October of 2015. I live in Nebraska and the cut is 215, however, I am at 213. What I am having a hard time comprehending is that two of my classmates scored a 1440 (which is what I scored) and received Semi Finalist, yet I am stuck doubting my abilities for not getting the same recognition. I understand how the scoring works, but fail to fathom how College Board doubles an entire section score’s magnitude without double the amount of questions in the section, thus skewing the data. Therefore, a student who scored a 1390, a whole 50 points behind me, could theoretically make Semi Finalist over me. (I know you can figure it out but i wanted to show everyone just for the sake of it) 760 English and 630 Math is a 1390, but 76×2 + 63 = 215, which is Nebraska’s cut. I needed to bring this up because I have been devastated by this, and it just doesn’t make sense to me. It just seems that I am at a disadvantage for being stronger at math. Thank you.
Marshall,
You are better off doubting the wisdom of a single measure from a single test than you are doubting your abilities. You achieved a tremendous SI and total score. I’m sorry if this means you may have missed out on scholarship opportunities. All I can say is that there are far more awards NOT based on PSAT score than there are National Merit awards. I can also assure you that your admission chances are much, much more about your grades and your SAT/ACT scores (where, BTW, STEM folks are on equal footing) than they are about your National Merit status. Best of luck!
Hi,
My son just learned that he is a National Merit Semifinalist. Given all the turmoil around the SAT, he took the ACT. He now has to take the SAT to get a confirming score. Can you tell me if he needs to take the essay part of the exam and approx what score will be sufficient to “confirm” his PSAT result? You mention a SAT selection index of 209 — does that translate to an approximate score? Thank you very much for your reply and for all the useful information on your site
–roslyn
Roslyn,
Yes, many students made the same decision regarding the ACT/SAT. He does NOT need to take the essay. NMSC only uses the Evidenced-Based Reading, Writing and Language (that’s not the Essay), and Math tests. Students receive scores (often thought of as subscores) on each of these tests from 10-40. In the case of reading and writing, the scores are whole numbers. In the case of Math, the score can be a whole number or a .5 decimal. The SAT SI is (R+W+M) x 2 using these subscores. Chances are, though, that you (and most others) think in terms of the 200-800 EBRW and Math scores. That’s fine, but you need to be a little careful. In order to calculate the SSI from these scores, you need to drop a zero and it is 2 x EBRW + Math. So approximately, a student with balanced scores would need a 1400. But it is dangerous to make an assumption that 1400 is in the clear since the total score is simple EBRW + Math. The SI doubles the EBRW.
Let me play this out with some examples:
Student receives scores of 35 reading, 34 writing, and 35.5 math. The student will have scores of 690 EBRW and 710 Math for a total score of 1400. The student’s SSI can be calculated 2 ways. 1) 2x(35+34+35.5) = 209. 2) 2×69 + 71 = 209. The student has a high enough confirming score. The two methods will always produce the same result. I happen to prefer the second; NMSC will tell you to use the first.
Student receives scores of 35 reading, 33 writing, and 36 math. The student will have scores of 680 EBRW and 720 Math for a total score of 1400. The student’s SSI can be calculated is 208 and does not qualify. [2x(35+33+36) or (2×68 + 72)]
Hi. I know my daughter is a semi finalist because I found her name in a press release. However, her school says they have still not been notified. I’m afraid we will miss a deadline if we don’t respond soon in some way. Mother school seems to,think they should just keep waiting but I’m not comfortable with that. Is there anything I can do,as a parent to move along?
Thanks goodness for press releases. Congratulations to your daughter. I would contact NMSC to see if there is anything that can be done in this situation. They will probably kick you back to the school. You do still have time to complete your portion of the Finalist application, but I think you are correct to be proactive. What you need in the short-term is the login information for the Online Student Application (OSA). That information is in the letter that your school should have received.
HI Art,
Thank you so very much for your quick and exceedingly clear and thorough response!
–roslyn
Hi,
I am a relatively new college counselor, and one of my seniors was just named as a semifinalist. She is planning to take SAT Subject Tests later in the fall and asked me if she needed to arrange to send those subject test scores to National Merit. What advice would you give me to pass along to her?
Thank you for your help,
RSA
Raegan,
NMSC does not use SAT Subject Test scores, so your senior does not need to worry about it.
Thank you so much for answering this question for me!
Art,
I just wanted to confirm that my son taking the SAT before the PSAT (both in his junior year) will be ok if he qualifies for National Merit.
Diane,
Yes, confirming SAT scores can be from the fall of a student’s sophomore year to Dec of his or her senior year. For the class of 2017, I’ll quite from the Requirements and Instructions NMSC has posted: “a national administration of the SAT between October 2014 and December 2016.”
I wish there was someone like you around when I was a kid. In 1988, I was lucky enough to be a Merit Finalist . My younger sister (in 1992 was an Achievement Scholar (and Commended Student) having just missed the Merit Cut Off)…….My son will sit this year for his PSAT. Based on the practice that he has been doing at home, my guess is that he will not score well enough to qualify as a Merit Scholar, but I think he has a real shot at being a National Achievement Scholar: He’s scoring in the 95-96%ile. Do you have any information on the estimated cut offs there. We are in Maryland.
Dolman,
Thank you. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your son was born three years too late. 2015 was the last year of the National Achievement Scholarship Program. NMSC will fund those students for their 4-year awards, but no new awards are being made. Instead, NMSC is transferring all associated funds to UNCF, which is creating the Achievement Capstone program. The Capstone awards are for graduating college students nominated by faculty. The awards will target students at historically or predominantly black colleges. In short, everything changed: NMSC gave things over to UNCF, testing was replaced by scholarship, and the target was moved from high school students to college students. I would love to know the real reasons behind these changes. Did NMSC feel that UNCF would be more effective in meeting the needs of black students? Did sponsors balk at supporting a scholarship based primarily on test scores? Did the organizations feel that rewarding college achievement was more important than high school achievement? While the Capstone program certainly seems laudable, it does seem a shame to shift scholarship dollars away from students just embarking on the collegiate experience. But I don’t sponsor the scholarships, so I don’t have a say in the matter. Best of luck to your son!
Thank you for the article, I’m a finalist who ended up confused by the process. I was just wondering, if I put my first-choice school as undecided, submit the application and am accepted as a finalist, can I then change my first choice school? Or do I have to pick a first choice before I submit the application.
Isaac,
You are not alone. Yes, you can change your first choice school. You can choose Undecided when you submit the NM application. You will need to pay attention to when you should submit a first choice college and which college you want to choose. There are too many permutations to go into them here, but I’ll summarize a few points.
1) NMSC does not even send sponsor institutions the first wave of information about college preferences until March 1. Until that date, change away.
2) May 1 is when NMSC starts sending out notifications of “matched” Finalists and college sponsors. Once you are matched, there is no going back. If you are not sure that you want to be matched, make sure NMSC has you as “undecided.” Except…
3) Some colleges have a limited number of scholarships. If you want to receive a scholarship from one of those institutions, you may need to declare before May 1. You should contact the college and/or NMSC if you have any concerns.
4) May 31 is when the matchmaking is done. DO NOT miss this deadline if you plan on attending a college that sponsors National Merit awards. NMSC typically warns students who are still Undecided, although they have no obligation to do this. It’s important that you keep track of your own choice. You should be able to do this at the OSA portal. NMSC will gladly help you out if you have troubles or concerns.
I know that is more than info than you asked for.
Hello kind Sir,
I know I am late in asking this, but I need to confirm whether or not I am qualified as a commended NMSC. I am a senior but I moved this fall, so I did not receive any type of confirmation in the mail or from my high school, possibly because of change of address or maybe because I moved from California to Texas? I am very confused. My NMSC Index was 213. I want to know if I can put commended on my college apps also. Thank you so much! I tried reading through all the questions to avoid making you answer to the same question.
Lydia,
I’m happy to help. Your 213 is well above the 209 Commended cutoff, so you can absolutely refer to yourself as a Commended Student. Commended Students and Semifinalists are not notified directly; they receive the news from their schools. Your school from last year probably got notice, but you may have just fallen through the cracks because of your move. Technically, you would want to double-check your PSAT score report to show that NMSC showed you as eligible for the competition (high school junior and U.S. citizen or permanent resident). Best of luck with your applications.
Respected sir
Than you so much for providing such a valuable information on NMS which is not available
Anywhere.
My daughter is from iL and she is an NMS semifinalst for 2017. Her PSAT index is 222. She took SAT in June 2016 and her SAT index is 220. Her 3 year CGPA is 4.36 (weighted for honors and ap courses). She took challenging courses. She is involved in extra curricular activities at school in the past 3 years and performed piano and chorus concerts.she will get good recommendation from councilors. There are 56 NMS semifinalists from her school district and a total of 101 NMS semi finalists from the same city in IL. Does she needs to take SAT again to improve SAT score in order to maxmize chances of becoming finalist? Is there any restriction on number of finalists from the same city? What are the chances that she will become a finalist? As a parent is there any thing I can do? I will appreciate your help.
Kalyana,
Based on what you have told me, your daughter will certainly qualify as a Finalist. Her SAT score is high enough. Her grades are strong enough. And she has the support of the school. She is not in competition for a spot with others in your area. It’s at the next step where things are far more complicated. To be a National Merit Scholar (i.e. receive money), she needs to win a corporate or school-sponsored award. If she attends a college that has school-sponsored awards, her chances are quite good. Some colleges do have limits on the number of scholarships that they give out, so it is not a guarantee. Corporate-sponsored awards may have restrictions on them (only available to students with parents at a particular company, for example). NMSC will make those determinations. Others are open to all students, but NMSC tries to have a national distribution just as it does with Semifinalists. This makes these “open” scholarships very competitive in a state such as IL. Other than doing as good of a job as possible in completing her essay, there is not much more to do. NMSC is in charge of making any scholarship matches. I would not recommend repeating the SAT in an effort to increase her odds.
I may have given you more information than you wanted. The simplest answer is that she will be a Finalist. Congratulations.