by Chrissy Foran, former financial aid officer at Washington State University

Almost every high school student has heard of the National Merit Scholarship, a program associated with their Preliminary SAT (PSAT) results. The PSAT is a national exam that students take in their sophomore and/or junior year of high school. For most test takers, the PSAT is considered a practice SAT exam, but for the highest performers, top marks could lead to some college scholarships. It’s important to note that the scholarships awarded through the National Merit program are available only to those students who take the test in their junior year of high school.

This article is a guest post by our partners at Revolution Prep and first appeared in March 2019 on the Revolution Prep blog.

The National Merit^® Scholarship Program has taken on a strange bedfellow. Beginning with the 2020 National Merit Scholarship competition, students identified as Semifinalists may submit “confirming” scores that result from ACT^® test administrations and be considered for Finalist standing. The ACT^® has long been the primary competitor of the College Board, producer of the PSAT/NMSQT^® (and SAT^®) and cosponsor of the National Merit^® Scholarship Program.

On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, long lost Beth Heaton was back in the host seat and began by helping parents strike the right level of involvement in their student’s college search process. The second half of the show was a double segment on all things National Merit Scholarship Competition.

If you have a student in eleventh or twelfth grade, chances are you’ve heard of the National Merit Scholarship.  All test takers in their third year of high school are automatically considered for the National Merit Scholarship when they take the Preliminary SAT (PSAT), as the National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a co-sponsor of the exam. This non-profit organization recognizes students with the highestscores on the PSAT each year with a scholarship.  In fact, the alternate name for the PSAT is the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT).

Congratulations on progressing to National Merit Finalist status! While you may be enjoying the recognition this has afforded you within your school and community, you might also be wondering what this designation means for you from a financial perspective?

According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, about 50-60% of National Merit Finalists receive funding as a result of their status. You could receive one of three types of awards:

• A one-time $2,500 scholarship from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. All Finalists are automatically considered for this award, but the NMSC awards it only to the top of the National Merit Finalist pool.