The National Merit® Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. Approximately 1.5 million high school students enter the program each year.
Eligibility
A student must:
- 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), progressing normally toward graduation or completion of high school, and planning to accept admission to college no later than the fall following completion of high school.
- Attend high school in the United States, the District of Columbia, or U.S. commonwealth and territory; or meet the citizenship requirements for students attending high school outside the United States (see below).
- Students attending high school outside the U.S.: To be eligible for the National Merit Scholarship Program, a student attending high school outside the United States must be a citizen of the United States; or be a U.S. lawful resident (or have applied for permanent residence, the application for which has not been denied) and intend to become a U.S. citizen at the earliest opportunity allowed by law.
Application process.
High School students who meet published program entry and participation requirements enter the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) at the specified time in the high school program, usually as juniors. Each year’s PSAT/NMSQT is the qualifying test designated for entry to a particular year’s competition.
Registration for the test is by high school rather than individual student. Interested students should see their counselor at the beginning of the school year to make arrangements to take the PSAT/NMSQT at the school in the fall.
Note: The PSAT 10 and PSAT 8/9 will not be considered for entry to the National Merit Scholarship Program. The PSAT/NMSQT is the official route of entry to the National Merit Scholarship Program.
When to take the PSAT/NMSQT
- Students who plan to spend the usual four years in high school (grades 9 through 12) before entering college full time must take the PSAT/NMSQT in their third year (grade 11, junior year). They will be entering the competition that ends when awards are offered in the spring of their fourth high school year (grade 12, senior year), the same year they will leave high school and enter college.
2. Students who plan to leave high school a year (or more) early to enroll in college full time usually can participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program if they take the PSAT/NMSQT before they finish high school. Such students must take the PSAT/NMSQT in either the next-to-last year or the last year they are enrolled in high school.
3. Students who are dual enrolled in both high school and college must take the PSAT/NMSQT in their third year of high school (grade 11, junior year) to enter the National Merit Scholarship Program. The high school determines whether a student is dual enrolled and confirms the student’s status as a high school student.
4. Students who plan to spend five years in grades 9 through 12 before entering college full time can participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program if they take the PSAT/NMSQT in the third year of high school and again in the fourth year. These students’ Selection Index scores will not be eligible for the program until a written request for entry to the competition is approved by NMSC®. The request should include the student’s name, high school name and location, year the student began high school, year the student will complete high school, and a brief explanation of the student’s educational pattern.
Application deadline
The 2021 PSAT/NMSQT is the qualifying test for entry to the competition for scholarships to be awarded in 2023.
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