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Published on March 2, 2021
It wouldn’t be off-base to assume that you’ve heard of the PSAT, but did you know that the PSAT is more than just a prep test for the SAT?
The Preliminary SAT (PSAT), or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT), is a great opportunity to see your student’s strengths and weaknesses and prepare for the SAT.
Your child’s 11th-grade PSAT score will be considered for the prestigious National Merit Scholarship.
The PSAT can offer more than just practice; earning the qualification of National Merit Scholar can lead to a variety of scholarships and merit aid from universities.
While the PSAT can be taken in ninth and tenth grade too, only the eleventh-grade test matters for National Merit.
Your child must do extremely well and receive a score in the top 3 percent of test takers during 11th grade. The exact PSAT National Merit cutoff score varies by state.
Scholarship winners must be enrolled as a high school student, progressing normally toward graduation, planning to enroll full time in college starting the fall after high school graduation, and be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
According to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, National Merit finalists compete for $2,500 scholarships based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments.
Colleges across the country recognize the National Merit Scholarship as a prestigious award, and being a scholar can give your child a leg up in the college admissions process.
If you think your student could win, it pays to put effort into test prep. Before you decide to invest a lot of resources into PSAT prep though, consider having your student self-study for the PSAT and take it in ninth or tenth grade.
There are 16,000 semifinalists who then can submit their transcripts, test scores, and details about leadership and extracurriculars to apply to become a National Merit Finalist.
Semifinalists also need to write a personal essay and obtain a recommendation from the high school principal.
About half of the 15,000 finalists selected by the National Merit Scholarship group receive a financial award of $2,500, which is renewable each year for four years. However, many colleges and universities also offer scholarships for National Merit Scholars.
This list is of public and private universities that offer up to a full tuition scholarship for National Merit Scholars.
The PSAT scholarship organization also facilitates corporate-sponsored scholarships available for National Merit qualifiers.
Some corporate awards are for children of employees, others are for students in a particular community, or those planning to study in a certain field.
If your child is a National Merit Scholar or is hoping to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship, be sure to contact their high school counselor and prospective universities to see if there are opportunities to receive additional scholarships.
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Editor’s Note: The author, Dr. Kelly Frindell, is a test prep expert and owner of InHouse Test Prep. Students across...
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