If I am in the top 2 percentile on the psat does that assure that I will win the national merit scholarship?

Question

If I am in the top 2 percentile on the psat does that assure that I will win the national merit scholarship?

Answer 1

Not neccessarily.  It all depends on your state and what their selection index cut off is.  You will, in all likelihood, get semi-finalist standing which is great for your college applications.  As for the scholarship, money is great, but what's a $1500 scholarship nowadays - two semesters of books?  Seriously, the status you gain from qualifying is much more important than the scholarship itself.

Answer 2

It depends on the state cutoff. Massachusetts I think has a cutoff of around 223 and that is well within the 99th percentile. California had a cutoff of 217 and I believe that is the 99th percentile as well.

Also be aware of the fact that scoring above the state cutoff only means that you'll advance to semifinalist standing. There are around 16,000 semifinalists chosen, of which 15,000 advance to finalist. Of those 15,000, only around half get the scholarship that they offer (2000 dollars).

Answer 3

Assuming that you are a rising senior and have received a letter, you are automatically at least a Commended Student.

If your scores are as high as you say they are, you will most likely advance to Semifinalist standing, which means that you're in approximately the top 1/3 of all students who have been commended for a high score on the PSAT.  (Usually around 16,000 people become semifinalists, according to collegeboard.)

After you are a semifinalist, to become a National Merit Finalist you must have good grades and high SAT scores that somewhat reflect the high scores you achieved on the PSAT.  Most of the Semifinalists become Finalists, but not all.

After you are a Finalist, you may or may not get the $2,500 scholarship.

Because the scholarship is not very large, however, the honor seems to be more important than the money itself.  However, some schools may offer their own scholarships for National Merit students.

Answer 4

Stop being greedy.