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Is a Perfect PSAT Score Required for Merit Scholarships?
A little while ago, a mom reached out to ask me this: "I finished watching your class Getting the Big Scholarships.... It was awesome! Thank you for taking the time to help others. In receiving a merit scholarship wouldn't you have to have a perfect PSAT® score? I've had a financial aid officer tell me this."
Some colleges will give a full merit scholarship to a perfect PSAT score. Some will give a smaller amount of money for a perfect PSAT score. Some colleges do not give merit aid based on test scores at all. It varies between colleges, so you want to ask the colleges you plan to apply to. Not very black and white, I know.
The rules for receiving the National Merit Scholarship or entering the competition for it are a bit different than regular merit scholarships.
To qualify, students do not need a perfect PSAT score, they just need to score about the Selection Index cutoff set for their state. (Check out this State Cutoff calculator to see where you rank.) Even though the necessary cutoff score varies by state, it is typically in the top 1% of testers. Tough competition, but attainable and totally worth it.
The rules for receiving the National Merit Scholarship or entering the competition for it are a bit different than regular merit scholarships.
To qualify, students do not need a perfect PSAT score, they just need to score about the Selection Index cutoff set for their state. (Check out this State Cutoff calculator to see where you rank.) Even though the necessary cutoff score varies by state, it is typically in the top 1% of testers. Tough competition, but attainable and totally worth it.
The Breakdown...
Here's how it works:
Commended Students: About 34,000 students who scored well but do not meet the state cutoff receive recognition but do not advance in the competition.
Semifinalists: The top 16,000 students who score at or above their state's cutoff qualify as Semifinalists and move to the next round of competition.
Finalists & Scholarship Winners: Students then submit additional materials (SAT scores, GPA, application, essay, and recommendation) to compete for Finalist and National Merit Scholarships.
A perfect score on the PSAT will more than likely mean your student will be a "National Merit Commended" scholar, if not a Semifinalist and able to advance to the next round. (Pro Tip: Both positions are excellent to include in the Awards section of your comprehensive records! Your child doesn't have to WIN the competition to show off their smarty-skills.) But your children don't have to be PERFECT to be commended. An excellent or very high score can also win a Commended status depending on your state cutoff. As Norman Vincent Peale said, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
Commended Students: About 34,000 students who scored well but do not meet the state cutoff receive recognition but do not advance in the competition.
Semifinalists: The top 16,000 students who score at or above their state's cutoff qualify as Semifinalists and move to the next round of competition.
Finalists & Scholarship Winners: Students then submit additional materials (SAT scores, GPA, application, essay, and recommendation) to compete for Finalist and National Merit Scholarships.
A perfect score on the PSAT will more than likely mean your student will be a "National Merit Commended" scholar, if not a Semifinalist and able to advance to the next round. (Pro Tip: Both positions are excellent to include in the Awards section of your comprehensive records! Your child doesn't have to WIN the competition to show off their smarty-skills.) But your children don't have to be PERFECT to be commended. An excellent or very high score can also win a Commended status depending on your state cutoff. As Norman Vincent Peale said, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
But Keep in Mind...
Getting a perfect PSAT score means that your child is smart – but we know that these types of tests don't measure how much you know, they measure how much you DON'T know. It means colleges may give your student merit scholarships - but not exactly how much scholarship money since it varies by college and even by year. So, you can see that a perfect score on the PSAT will mean that your student has a special achievement (like National Merit Commended Scholar), and some colleges will award merit scholarships for that, but even a perfect score is not a guarantee of merit scholarships.
A perfect PSAT score is very difficult to achieve. If a college only gives merit scholarships for a perfect PSAT, then they probably don't have very much money to give away. You may have better luck with financial aid if you choose another college that has multiple opportunities for merit scholarships - something that doesn't require perfection. I would look for colleges that offer scholarships for other test scores. Don't invest a lot of time in looking at a college that will ONLY give merit aid to a perfect PSAT. Look for colleges that provide scholarships based on other things as well, and perhaps they will give more than the usual merit scholarships for a perfect PSAT.
A perfect PSAT score is very difficult to achieve. If a college only gives merit scholarships for a perfect PSAT, then they probably don't have very much money to give away. You may have better luck with financial aid if you choose another college that has multiple opportunities for merit scholarships - something that doesn't require perfection. I would look for colleges that offer scholarships for other test scores. Don't invest a lot of time in looking at a college that will ONLY give merit aid to a perfect PSAT. Look for colleges that provide scholarships based on other things as well, and perhaps they will give more than the usual merit scholarships for a perfect PSAT.
A Great Score Can Also Mean...
A perfect PSAT score will also usually mean a good SAT® score, since the tests are tied together. The SAT is closely correlated to scholarship money – even closer than the PSAT. Since you can only apply for the National Merit Scholarship with a PSAT score, a perfect score on the SAT test will have nothing to do with whether you are chosen as a National Merit Scholar, but it will have everything to do with other financial aid offers and other merit scholarships. Nothing can change a student's scholarship opportunity faster than a good SAT score.
Some scholarships are automatically awarded based on your student's SAT score alone. Yes, really! Colleges are constantly on the lookout for exemplary students, and many will give scholarship offers to students with exemplary scores, even without seeing the rest of their school documents. So, an excellent or perfect PSAT score is a good indicator that your student will also receive an excellent SAT score and therefore, automatic, and competitive scholarship offers. Woohoo!
Here is the takeaway: study for the PSAT and SAT and you can save a truckload of money on college. The amount of money may vary from college to college, depending on scores, but the overall message is simple: higher PSAT and SAT scores equals higher scholarships and less debt. If you are running low on time to study, take a peek at this article: Test Preparation Without Getting Smarter.
Some scholarships are automatically awarded based on your student's SAT score alone. Yes, really! Colleges are constantly on the lookout for exemplary students, and many will give scholarship offers to students with exemplary scores, even without seeing the rest of their school documents. So, an excellent or perfect PSAT score is a good indicator that your student will also receive an excellent SAT score and therefore, automatic, and competitive scholarship offers. Woohoo!
Here is the takeaway: study for the PSAT and SAT and you can save a truckload of money on college. The amount of money may vary from college to college, depending on scores, but the overall message is simple: higher PSAT and SAT scores equals higher scholarships and less debt. If you are running low on time to study, take a peek at this article: Test Preparation Without Getting Smarter.
Has your student achieved a perfect or near-perfect PSAT score? What was your experience?
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Amarillo, TX 79106
Phone: 1-888-533-2435
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 9.00 am to 03:00 pm (PST)
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