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The National Merit Scholarship Program’s mission is “to promote wider and deeper respect for learning in general and for exceptionally talented individuals in particular.”

Here are the national merit PSAT cutoff scores for 2018 to best help you succeed in receiving a National Merit Scholarship.

If you didn’t perform well on the PSAT, we highly recommend checking out our tutorials and resources, or signing up for our SAT prep course!

Commended Students, Semifinalists & Finalists

Let’s take a moment to discuss the differences between Commended Students, Semifinalists, & Finalists.

Commended Students

Commended students are recognized for their academic performance, but don’t advance forward in the National Merit Scholarships formal competition.

Semifinalist Students

Semifinalists are the highest-scoring test-takers in each state. They then qualify to become Finalists by completing their NMSC application and showing that they meet all the required academic standards.

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The National Merit Scholarship Corporation provides the requirements at the same time students receive their Semifinalist status. Most of them are straightforward:

A completed application

An extremely solid academic record

A letter of recommendation

An essay

A strong SAT score confirming PSAT performance

Finalist Students

About 95% of National Merit Semifinalists become Finalists, so making that Semifinalist list is the biggest achievement that predicts Finalist success.

Commended and Semifinalist Students may receive “Special Scholarships” sponsored by external businesses and organizations. However, only Finalists receive official NMSC scholarships.

Scholarship Awards

Of the roughly 15,000 Finalists, around 8,000 will receive Merit Scholarships and various awards.

Finalists are chosen statewide based on:

A combination of skills

The potential for success

Academic achievement

The NMSC is very clear about this, stating that:

“All winners of Merit Scholarship awards (Merit Scholar designees) are chosen from the Finalist group based on their abilities, skills, and accomplishments—without regard to gender, race, ethnic origin, or religious preference.”

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The scholarship opportunities that the winners receive are huge. The total number of scholarships is just shy of $35,000,000. That number breaks down to $4,500 per student selected.

Class of 2018 NMSC Semifinalist Predictions

The chart below highlights our predictions for the 2018 National Merit Semifinalists in each state.

These predictions are made based on a variety of Prep Expert metrics and analysis.

These Semifinalist scores offer the best prediction of success for an NMSC Scholarship. Roughly 50% of National Merit Finalists go on to receive a significant scholarship.

Please note that we have included PSAT scores (out of 1520) and all corresponding National Merit scores (out of 228) in our 2018 ranking analysis.

We’ll update this list when the actual scores are released in a few months!

State PSAT Score NMSQT Equivalent Alabama 1390 210 Alaska 1400 211 Arizona 1430 216 Arkansas 1380 208 California 1470 222 Colorado 1420 214 Connecticut 1450 219 Delaware 1430 215 Washington DC 1470 221 Florida 1420 213 Georgia 1450 219 Hawaii 1430 215 Idaho 1390 209 Illinois 1430 216 Indiana 1430 215 Iowa 1390 210 Kansas 1390 210 Kentucky 1410 212 Louisiana 1390 209 Maine 1420 214 Maryland 1470 222 Massachusetts 1480 223 Michigan 1420 214 Minnesota 1410 212 Mississippi 1390 210 Missouri 1400 211 Montana 1350 205 Nebraska 1390 209 Nevada 1390 210 New Hampshire 1430 215 New Jersey 1460 220 New Mexico 1430 215 New York 1450 218 North Carolina 1450 218 North Dakota 1350 205 Ohio 1420 214 Oklahoma 1390 210 Oregon 1450 218 Pennsylvania 1440 217 Rhode Island 1430 215 South Carolina 1390 210 South Dakota 1350 204 Tennessee 1430 215 Texas 1450 218 Utah 1410 212 Vermont 1410 213 Virginia 1460 220 Washington 1450 219 West Virginia 1350 205 Wisconsin 1410 212 Wyoming 1340 204

Additional Program Information

If you want to qualify for a National Merit Scholarship, you must:

Take the official PSAT no later than in your junior year of high school. Be fully enrolled in high school with no issues and a normal path towards graduation (keep in mind this can involve being homeschooled). Be a United States citizen or have an application for residency in America with the intention of attaining permanent citizenship.

There are also ways for non-citizen students to start the application process. To learn more, please visit the NMSC’s website and browse the Scholarship Program qualifications.

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