<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nOf the 50,000 students, 34,000 students get the Commended Students<\/strong> status. However, their participation in the race for this prestigious merit scholarship ends here.<\/p>\n\n- \n
<\/span>Semi-finalists:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe remaining 16,000 advanced to semi-finalist status. These semi-finalists are to fill out a scholarship application and appear for SAT.<\/p>\n
\n- \n
<\/span>Finalists:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n15,000 get notified as Finalists based on SAT scores and applications. That\u2019s about 90% of the semi-finalists.<\/p>\n
\n- \n
<\/span>Merit scholars:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nOut of these, only 7,500 seekers of undergraduate scholarships for students win one of the three merit scholarships awarded by National Merit Scholarship Corporation.\u00a0Only 2,500 students win the prestigious National Merit $2500 Scholarship.\u00a0The remaining 5,000 receive corporate-sponsored scholarships or college-sponsored scholarships. Another 1,100 non-finalists win Special Scholarships for students offered by a few sponsoring companies.<\/p>\n
Out of all the applicants seeking merit-based scholarships, only about 1% get to the Semi-Finalist stage and only about a 0.5% get awarded merit scholarships. Finally, only 0.15% win the National Merit Scholarship.<\/p>\n
So, if at any stage of this grueling process you fall through the sieve, don\u2019t kick yourselves. This competition is so stiff that you must apply for scholarships more widely if you\u2019re keen to cover your college tuition costs.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Steps to win the National Merit Scholarship<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nIf you want to be a National Merit Scholar you\u2019ve got to start early. Those who start planning for merit based scholarships in their early high school years tend to make the most out of the various opportunities for scholarships for students. The actual competition process begins in Junior High. The steps and the timeline is as follows.<\/p>\n
<\/span>Timeline:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\t| Step<\/th> | Time<\/th> | What happens<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
\n\n\t| 1<\/td> | October:
\nFall of Junior High
\n<\/td> | Appear for PSAT\/NMSQT<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\t| 2<\/td> | Sep:
\nFall of Senior year
\n<\/td> | The National Merit Scholarship Program selects and notifies Commended and Semi-Finalist Students. Commended students are out of the race.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\t| 3<\/td> | Sep - Oct:
\nFall of Senior year
\n<\/td> | Semi-finalists must apply for scholarship to get to the Finalist status. You will need to submit your academic record, a recommendation from your school principal, and an essay.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\t| 4<\/td> | Nov - Dec:
\nFall\/winter of Senior Year
\n<\/td> | You need to submit your SAT scores by Dec 31 if you\u2019re aiming for the National Merit Scholarship Program in the coming summer. So you need to appear for SAT at least a month before, i.e. sometime in November. <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\t| 5<\/td> | Jan - Feb
\nWinter of Senior year
\n<\/td> | Your SAT score must confirm your PSAT\/NMSQT performance. The National Merit Scholarship Program selects and notifies Finalist Students.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\t| 6<\/td> | Mar - Apr
\nSpring of Senior year
\n<\/td> | The National Merit Scholarship Program notifies winners of Special Scholarships recipients (these are not merit scholars). These are corporate scholarships for students awarded based on the scholarship applications and special eligibility criteria set out by the sponsors.
\n
\nSimultaneously, also announces:
\n- National Merit $2500 Scholarship Awardees
\n- College sponsored scholarship awardees
\n- Corporate sponsored scholarship awardees
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\t| 7<\/td> | Apr - Jul<\/td> | Names of the merit scholarship awardees are released in the press. National Merit confirms students\u2019 attendance and enrolment at respective colleges.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n\t| 8<\/td> | Sept
\nStart of college
\n<\/td> | Scholarship check award sent to college in the National Merit Scholars\u2019 name.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n |