Every Spring, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announces the National Merit Scholarship winners, and the list of 2025 winners was just released in February. While the $2,500 one-time scholarship most winners receive isn’t much compared to the cost of tuition at four-year universities, National Merit Scholar Finalists and Semi-Finalists are sought after by many selective universities, so much so that many of them offer full-tuition scholarships to students that achieve this distinction.
But how can your student achieve this prestigious distinction?
How to Qualify for National Merit
When your student started high school, you might have heard other parents or academic counselors mention the term “National Merit Scholar” in passing. Many families—mine included—are not aware what National Merit Finalists and Semi-Finalists are or how to receive those distinctions. The process, however, is fairly straightforward.
Step 1: Take the PSAT in the fall semester of junior year. (While many high schools have sophomore students take a PSAT, the only score that qualifies your student to be a National Merit Scholar is the one they receive in junior year.)
Step 2: Score in the Top 1% in the state, which automatically qualifies your student as a semi-finalists. Unlike other standardized tests, which often have percentiles based on national averages, your student will need to score in the top 1% of the students that have taken the PSAT in their state that year. Scores differ from state to state and year to year. Generally, states with larger populations and more intensive education programs will have higher cut-offs.
Step 3: Score equivalently on the SAT and complete the National Merit Finalist application. In addition to having a high SAT score, students must also maintain strong grades throughout the spring semester of junior year and the fall semester of senior year. They also need to complete an essay and submit a recommendation from their school counselor along with their application.
It’s worth noting here that there is another level of recognition outside National Merit Finalists and Semifinalists. Students who rank in the top 3–4% nationally are commended, which can be listed as an accomplishment on their college applications but rarely comes with scholarship money from universities.
How National Merit Impacts College Admission
As noted above, the real value of being named a National Merit Finalist or Semi-finalist isn’t the $2,500 one-time scholarship that is awarded by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation to Finalists. Far more significant is how rigorously many selective universities recruit Finalists and Semi-finalists. Some selective universities—like Brandeis, Boston College, Emory, Michigan State, Harvey Mudd, University of Miami–Florida, Pepperdine, Trinity, Tufts, and Tulane—offer $1,000 to $2,000 annually to Finalists. However, others—like Arizona State, Brigham Young, Florida State, Fordham, Texas Tech, University of Alabama, Tulsa—offer scholarships equal to the full cost of attendance or living.
How to Prepare Your Student
If your sophomore student already took a PSAT at their high school and did well, and if they are interested in pursuing a National Merit Scholarship, it’s a good idea to begin prepping them now to take the PSAT again in the fall. Many of the skills they will learn from test prep for the PSAT are applicable to the SAT. Speaking of, they will also need to begin prepping to take the SAT soon in order to give themselves the four months it often takes to appropriately prepare.
If your student is interested in improving their PSAT score or wants to prepare to take it for the first time, The Enrichery offers a Pre-ACT and SAT course that teaches students the math, reading, and grammar testing skills they need to excel on the PSAT and SAT. Schedule a session today to get your student prepared for the PSAT!
