NMSQT are sponsored by The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) and are awarded to about 8000 students each year.
High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT / National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT / NMSQT) - a test which serves as an initial screen of approximately 1.4 million entrants each year - and by meeting published program entry/participation requirements.
Those who qualify on the test in the fall of their junior year, the NMSC takes the 50,000 students who have scored above a certain set score, (usually around 200) and recognizes them for their performance. The following September (fall of a student's senior year), NMSC will name approximately 2/3 of these students, or 34,000 students, as "Commended Scholars." Although this is an impressive distinction, commended scholars will not move on to the next level of scholarship competition. To move on to the next level, students must have scored above the benchmark cutoff score in their state. In the year 2006, the cutoff score in Connecticut was 220 combined. In Massachusetts it was 221, in New York it was 219, and in Mississippi it was 212.
This usually leaves about 16,000 students in the running for scholarships. Those students remaining will be named Semi-Finalists. At this point, the semi-finalists will be required to complete application materials for National Merit Scholarships. This application is remarkably lengthy and involved, and often requires as much, if not more, effort than a typical college application, with questions about a student's grades, extracurricular activities, SAT scores, required teacher and counselor recommendations, and a student essay. Based on this application, the NMSC will name Finalists who qualify for the award, and in May of a student's senior year, NMSC will name approximately 8,200 scholarship recipients.
