National Merit Test

Each year over 1.4-1.5 million students in high schools all across the United States take the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying. Also, known as the PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test), This test takes 2 hours and 45 minutes. The PSAT test is a good way to indicate how well you are going to do on the SAT by giving you a practice test. The PSAT gives high school students the opportunity to understand the standard test experience. However, even though it is a practice test for the SAT, scores won’t be sent to colleges, and it doesn’t affect your high school grades. It should still be taken seriously by all students who take it because the PSAT score opens you up to your eligibility for a National Merit Test scholarship. Most students when taking the test take it in their school normally in the fall of their sophomore/junior year. To take the test you need to ask a teacher or counselor at your school when the test will be offered and how to sign up. However, earning a National Merit Test Scholarship is a lot harder than it seems. Each year, around 50,000 of the 1.4 million of the juniors qualify for getting recognized for their high PSAT test scores and approximately 34,000 of the students who take the test get letters of commendation from the National Merit Test Corporation. All though these letters will not receive a scholarship, they will have a positive impact and look good to admission offices and may also be listed on your college application. However, with the other 16,000 remaining students or so those who score get put in the 99th percentile for the National Merit Tests Semifinalists in their state with about half of them getting scholarships and many students have even been awarded a 2,500$ scholarship