The National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test
Understanding the Competition
By Matthew Bullington
So you now know about the PSAT, so where does the National Merit Competition come into play? Understanding the details of the NMSQT competition, including the selection process and available scholarships, is key to evaluating how much effort you should put into this exam.
When you take the PSAT in October of your Junior year of high-school (or your second or third year if you are completing a three-year high-school), you are automatically entered into the competition for a National Merit Scholarship. Your scores on the three sections are evaluated in comparison with other students who took the test in the same state, and if you score approximately in the 96th percentile or above (meaning 96% or more of the students who took the test in the state score lower than you) then the first hurdle is passed in the competition. The top 4% of the students who take the exam (or approximately 50,000 of the 1.4 million students who take the test) are recognized as being in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
If you are among the top 4%, you will receive in April an invitation to name two colleges or universities to be notified of your standing by the National Merit Scholarship Competition (NMSC). Then in September you will receive notice that you have qualified either as a commended student (notified in late September) or a semifinalist (notified in early September). As a commended student you receive a Letter of Commendation recognizing your accomplishment, but you do not advance in the competition. While commended students are not eligible for the National Merit Scholarships, there are several businesses and companies that offer scholarships, and the recognition is beneficial to have on a college application.
If you are a semifinalist (about one-third or 16,000 of the approximately 50,000 high scorers on the exam) you will receive an application in early September to complete and turn back into the NMSC. In addition to the application you must also turn in a copy of your high-school transcripts, as well as take and report your score from the SAT Reasoning test. The SAT must be taken by December at the latest, though it is strongly recommended to take the test by November. You must specifically designate for the score to be sent to the NMSC.
The NMSC then evaluates your completed application, and determines whether your application, high-school grades, and SAT scores confirm your academic ability. If everything is acceptable, you will receive a Certificate of Merit in February notifying you of your status as a finalist. Of the approximately 16,000 students who are semifinalists, about 15,000 advance to standing as a finalist. Although not considered for the National Merit Scholarships, semifinalists are often offered scholarships by businesses, corporations, or universities.
The National Merit Finalists are notified in early March if they are to receive a business or corporate scholarship (available to relatives of employees or students who are entering a related field). Notifications of receipt of a National Merit Scholarship (in the amount of $2,500) are sent in late March, and college sponsored National Merit Scholarship recipients receive notification in late April (with amounts varying from $500 to $2,000 that can be renewed for up to four years). Currently scholarships are offered to over 10,000 of the finalists every year.
As you have probably noticed, there is a substantial amount of waiting involved in this process. It is six months from the test date before you know if you are even in the competition, and final notification of the scholarships can take up to 18 months. Once you take the test, try (as much as possible) to just forget about it and move on to the next step in the college application process (there is plenty to do). My recommendation would be for everyone to take the exam, even if you don’t think you will qualify for the competition. At the very least, the PSAT / NMSQT will help prepare you for the SAT and for standardized exams in general, a substantial part of the college application process.
Matthew
