National Merit Semifinalist Cutoffs by State

National Merit does not rank students by PSAT/NMSQT total score. It uses the Selection Index printed on the score report: double the Reading and Writing score, add the Math score, and divide by 10. Each section is scored from 160 to 760, so the index runs from 48 to 228.

College Board's own example: 620 in Reading and Writing and 500 in Math is (2 × 620 + 500) ÷ 10 = 174.

Because Reading and Writing counts twice, two students with the same total can have different indexes. 720 Reading and Writing with 700 Math is 214; 700 with 720 is 212. The useful question is not whether a total will qualify but whether the pair will.

About 1.3 million students a year enter the National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the PSAT/NMSQT, almost all of them juniors. Roughly 50,000 score high enough for recognition, and their schools are told the following September.

Semifinalists are chosen state by state. National Merit Scholarship Corporation gives each state a share of the Semifinalists, ranks that state's entrants by Selection Index, and sets the cutoff at the score that comes closest to filling the share. That is why a cutoff can move from one year to the next when little about the students has changed, and why the same index can qualify in one state and fall short in the next. The Commended level is one national figure, below every state's cutoff or equal to the lowest.

Reaching the cutoff makes a student a Semifinalist, not a Finalist. Semifinalists still have to meet NMSC's academic and other requirements to be considered for scholarships.