Question about National Merit Scholarships

Paying for College
1

So I took the PSAT as a freshman and didnt do to well on it (1040), during my Sophomore and Junior year I didn’t see the need to take the PSAT again as at the time I thought it was just really practice, and didn’t mean anything so I didn’t take it. As a senior this year, i’ve taken the SAT twice. So my question is, is National Merit Scholarships only based on PSAT Scores? Since I only took it once my freshman year does that mean i’m not qualified for the National Merit Scholarships? Also, do people that have take then PSAT Apply for National Merit Scholarships or is it automatically awarded based on PSAT scores?

Tldr

  1. Are NMS’s only based on PSAT scores? (Are SAT scores considered?)
  2. What happens if I only took the PSAT only once and didn’t do to well on it, am I still considered?
  3. Do People apply for NMS or do you automatically get it based on your scores?
2

Yes NM status is based on 11th grade PSAT (with a few rare exceptions). About 1% of the top scorers in each state automatically become NMSF. There are further steps to go from NMSF to NMF. About 90% become NMF. The top 3% nationally are Commended.

3

In your other post, you say that you have a 1260 superscored SAT. Most of the NMF are in the 1500+ range when taking the full SAT.

4

Are you applying to the right schools???

Your parents will pay $10k, you can borrow $5500…so you should be applying to lower ranked schools that might give free tuition for your SAT.