National Merit Scholarship Program
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and college scholarships administered by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organization. The program began in 1955. NMSC conducts two annual competitions for recognition and scholarships: the National Merit Scholarship Program, which is open to all students who meet entry requirements, and the National Achievement Scholarship Program in which only African-American students participate. Each year a total of approximately 10,500 scholarships are awarded through NMSC programs. The corporation’s headquarters are located in Evanston, Illinois.
Of the 1.4 million entrants, about 50,000 qualify for recognition. Two-thirds of those qualified receive Letters of Commendation; the remainder become Semifinalists, about 94% of whom go on to become Finalists. Over half of the Finalists are selected to receive scholarships underwritten by corporations and business organizations, colleges and universities, and by NMSC with its own funds.
Program entry requirements
To enter the competition, a student must
- be enrolled full time as a high school student progressing normally toward completion of high school and planning to enroll full time in college in the fall following the completion of high school;
- be a citizen of the United States or be a U.S. lawful permanent resident who intends to become a U.S. citizen at the earliest opportunity allowed by law, or have applied for permanent residency with the intention of becoming a U.S. citizen at the earliest possible opportunity and have not been denied; and
- take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in the specified year of the high school program, usually the junior (11th grade) year and usually at one’s own school. Students completing high school in three (3) years or less must be in the last or next-to-last year of high school when they take the test. Students unable to take the exam because of an extenuating circumstance, such as severe illness or natural disaster, may be permitted to substitute subsequent SAT results by making arrangements with NMSC no later than March 1 following the exam that was missed.
