Hello,
My son took the PSAT as a Sophomore and did not score high enough to be considered for a NMS. He took hard classes and took the ACT 3 times and got a 32 as his highest composite score.
Many academic scholarships are tied to the NMS. Is there any way for him to participate in the NMS program? I have looked on their website and looked around here but have not found anything.
Thanks in advance, John
National Merit is based only on the PSAT when taken as a junior…eve perfect scoring sophomores aren’t eligible. Is he a sophomore currently? If so, make sure he signs up for the test next October and that he preps appropriately.
NMSF / NMF status is based on the junior year SAT; not the sophomore year. And it’s a one shot deal.
@LoveTheBard I believe you meant to say “based on the junior year PSAT”. The PSAT is the vehicle that leads to NMSF status. A confirming follow up score from the SAT is sent as part of the national merit finalist application package.
Yes, I did mean junior year PSAT; the OP had said sophomore year PSAT. In correcting the year, I omitted the P. My bad.
OK. He took the PSAT in the Fall of last year so he was a Junior. He did not qualify for NMS so he is not qualified. Bummer.
That’s OK. There are still a number of schools where he can get good merit aid with that ACT score.
He can still qualify and use it for a National Merit Special Scholar. Lots of companies have scholarships for employees’ kids. It usually entails the PSAT score and an essay. He still may qualify for that, if his score was high enough to compete with other students’ from families of the same employer.
Employers who offer the National Merit Special Scholarships will usually have a form that employees with eligible family members will fill out. I don’t remember exactly when those forms were available but it was long before the fall announcement of National Merit Semifinalists. If there are no semifinalists among the pool of employees’ family members who applied, National Merit then contacts the most qualified of those applicants to fill out the appropriate application. My daughter, who was not a National Merit Semifinalist, received that type of application in late fall of her senior year.
Re: NMF and NMS special scholarships…
S1 was a NMF, so we’ve been thru all of that.
S2 just missed the cut-off but did get the NM Special Scholarship because H’s employer was a sponsor. H had to fill something out during son’s junior year, and then something else had to be filled out after that. I’m not sure that every corporate sponsor ALSO does Special Scholarships.
We were told that H’s company provides X dollars for NMFs and Y dollars for Special Scholarships. We were notified about S2’s award around April/May of his senior year.
Anyway…in the end, both boys ended up with huge merit awards. S1 got the big NMF award from his Univ, and S2 got the Presidential (full tuition) plus 2500 per year from his Univ, plus 2500 per year Special Scholarship.
So, my point to the OP is that although his child may have “missed out” on NMSF/F, the child can still get huge merit at his university.
With his ACT 32 and a strong GPA, he could get free tuition at Alabama. What’s his major? If Eng’g or CS then he would get an add’l 2500 per year.
Well this is from my company website around scholarships…
“students also must meet all requirements for participation in the National Merit Scholarship Program that are published in the Official Student Guide to the PSAT/NMSQT”
Given that, I do not believe that my Son quailfies. My wife’s company has the same messaging so we are in the same boat there.
He has been accepted to Baylor and was given a very nice merit scholarship so I know that some schools offer them.