National Merit Scholarship Program-Explained by a College Advisor

I myself received the National Merit Scholarship due to my PSAT score for national merit scholarship meeting the qualifying score that year. Many families ask, "How do you qualify for the scholarship?" and how much is the actual value of the national merit scholarship.

I can make another blog post about this specific scholarship with details and discussion points, but the general points:

You take the PSAT, which is almost like a shortened SAT test, in eleventh grade. Often, high schools will have sophomores (tenth grade high school students) take it to get some practice and familiarity with the exam before they take it in eleventh grade. This is why sometimes, if students are equally strong at the ACT and SAT, when deciding between the two tests, I may recommend the SAT. The reasoning being that if you are strong with the SAT, then you may perform well on the PSAT and thus achieve some merit scholarship money through the National Merit Scholarship award. Read more about deciding if your high school student should take the SAT: Whether or Not Your High School Student Should Take the SAT. Then, you take it again in 11th grade.

Senior year, your high school student will find out if their PSAT score made them eligible for the national merit scholarship, making them a semifinalist. Then, a certain number of the semifinalists go on to become finalists. I received the award which gave me a few thousand dollars while I was at the University of Southern California, but the award varies with the college. For example, the University of South Florida might have different merit award amounts if you are a finalist for the program, so it is important to check each college after you receive the award and see what the corresponding merit scholarship amount may be.

For more information on merit scholarships, consider reading Merit Based Scholarships: A Summary of All The Things You Will Need to Know

Let me know if any questions!

Sincerely,

Dr. Medeeha Khan