National Merit Scholarship is a type of competition in which a large number of students participate to earn money. The National Merit Scholarship program was started in 1955 and around 1.5 million students take part in this program each year to fund their education expenses. Students who apply for this scholarship are from high school. The qualification and eligibility criteria for national merit scholarships are a little different from others. So, to help you understand we will discuss the types of national merit scholarships, eligibility criteria, and how you can qualify for the scholarship. Let’s start with the context of the National Merit Scholarship.
What is the National Merit Scholarship?
A national merit scholarship is a fund that is offered by the national merit scholarship corporation for the student’s welfare. Students need to score good marks in their PSAT for getting eligible for a national merit scholarship. As per the data, there are almost 10,000 students who receive National merits scholarships each year and these scholarships are only based on the PSAT grades. The winners of the scholarships are announced by the NMSC at the beginning of March and it continues till mid-June. There are various types of national merit scholarships available and they work according to the student’s needs and preferences.
Types of National Merit Scholarships
The major three types of national merit scholarships are as follows.
- College-sponsored Scholarship: the finalist of the national merit scholarship becomes the winner of the college-sponsored scholarship. After winning the scholarship they have to inform the NMSC that the sponsor college is their choice for further education. They offer around $3,800 to eligible candidates each year and these scholarships are renewable for up to four years of graduate study.
- Scholarship sponsored by Corporate: This is the scholarship that is specially offered to the children of the employees in the organization. It is also offered to those residents who are living in the community where the corporation has done its operations. Every year the corporate sponsors announce their programs along with the eligibility criteria and the cost that they offer as a scholarship. Sometimes these scholarships are offered as one-time awards but sometimes they are offered as renewable scholarships which means sponsors renew them for 4 years of undergraduate study.
- National Merit Scholarship for $2,500: This single-payment scholarship is awarded based on state representation rather than financial circumstances, career plans, college choice, etc. Each year $2,500 is offered to the finalists of the national merit scholarship and all the finalists compete with each other for $2,500.
So, these are the national merit scholarships from which students have to choose according to their preferences and every year hundreds of students try to qualify for these scholarships.
How to qualify for a National Merit Scholarship?
To qualify for a National Merit Scholarship you have to follow certain steps. These steps are started from PSAT/NMSQT and then some other steps help you in achieving a semifinalist or finalist post. After reaching that stage the process is not coming to an end. Some more points are there that you should keep in your mind.
- Maintain a good PSAT score: Even in your junior year you must try to clear the PSAT/NMSQT. To qualify for the National Merits Scholarship you have to gain the position of 1% in your state. This means the cutoff of the PSAT might affect your performance because it also considers the performance of others on the PSAT. If you tried for PSAT then in September you will know whether you scored well to become a semifinalist or not.
The average cutoff score for the PSAT is around 215 and it is evaluated by NMSC with the help of the selection index score. This cut-off score may vary by the state and if you are living in Montana then you can qualify for this scholarship with a lower score. On the other hand, if you are living in New Jersey, Massachusetts then you will require high scores.
- Effective Application as a National Merit Semifinalist: If you are selected and get your name in the semifinalist list then now it’s time to apply for the finals. It is a great achievement to include in the college application that you got recognition as a National Merit Semifinalist. So, a semi-finalist is eligible to apply for the national merit finalist. The process of applying for a National Merit scholarship is similar to the college application process. Semi-finalist candidates need to submit their High School academic records, a personal statement that includes all the facts and figures about them, and a letter of recommendation that must be written by the authorized authority like the principal to the NMSC.
The eligible candidate needs to focus upon some points like before submitting the personal statement be sure to get advice or opinion from a trusted source. You should prepare a unique and strong application for the final merit scholarship now because there is no guarantee that the semi-finalist will become a national merit finalist. The competition for National Merit Scholarship is very high as all-round candidates participated in it.
- Maintain a good SAT score: If you are thinking that after doing well on PSAT you are done with the testing then no it is not over here. For National Merit Finalists, you are required to gain a good score on the SAT as well. There is not any cutoff score list for SAT and after scoring well in PSAT you can prepare yourself for SAT.
- Commended candidates: The top 2%-3% of PSAT candidates will get a name of commended students by NMSC. It’s around 34,000 students. They will get a letter of commendation from NMSC and it will help them in getting recognition for significant academic achievements. They are not eligible to compete for National Merit Scholarship.
- Finalist candidates: The top students from the semi-finals will get National Merit Scholarship and they are notified in February during their senior year. After getting a scholarship their High School principal is also notified of this and sends the certificate of merit to them. The principal will award the certificate to the finalist.
Therefore, these are the points that students should know to qualify for a National Merit Scholarship.
Basic Eligibility Criteria for National Merit Scholarship
- Students have to score good marks on PSAT during their high school years.
- Students must attend their high school in the U.S. and must be a resident of the United States.
Conclusion
A national merit scholarship is one of the best scholarships that students can earn with their college application process. The additional benefit of this program is that the students who get certificates of commanders and semi-finalists can add this status to their application and it will indicate their academic excellence. It increases the chance of getting other or special scholarships. To qualify for the national merit scholarship students need to obtain good marks in their PSAT and SAT.