National Merit $2,500 Scholarship
ListedScholarship
- Award
- One-time $2,500 award; full-time accredited U.S. bachelor study, excluding service academies/certain limited-training institutions. Paid to college in early September after enrolment and academic/disciplinary standing verified.
- Timeline
- Oct 20For 2027 awards, entry normally occurred via 25 PSAT/NMSQT
- Sep 20Semifinalists named 26. Obtain current dated semifinalist/application and confirming-score deadlines from school/NMSC instructions. Current accessible annual student guide has moved to the 2028 competition.
- How to apply
- Semifinalists complete online scholarship application with essay, full academic record, activities and principal endorsement/recommendation, plus official confirming SAT/ACT scores and requested documents. Every qualifying Finalist considered for $2,500 award. School supplies current 2027 instructions; exact current application/test-document deadlines are not publicly confirmed from accessible documents.
- Who can apply
- Existing National Merit participant who advances to Finalist, with strong sustained academic record and full-time college plans; no uniform GPA threshold. U.S./territory-school route does not impose blanket citizenship filter. General current rules impose U.S. citizen or lawful/pending permanent residency plus earliest-citizenship intent for school abroad; obtain specific 2027 instructions.
- Good to know
- SAT/ACT alone do not enter the competition. Only one monetary award through NMSC. 2026 PSAT/NMSQT enters 2028 competition, not 2027.