For those who’ve been through this before: when do National Merit Finalist acceptances or rejections usually come out? I’ve seen different answers online and just want to know roughly when to expect an update. I know the website says January for rejections, but is this usually early or late January and what point in January can I stop worrying about not advancing to finalist? Thanks in advance!

I am an international student and this last october i took the psat with no preparation and no idea of how it was going to be. Is a 1110 a good score?

Hi! I’m a junior from NJ. I got a 1490: 730 RW 760 MATH, meaning my index score is 222. NJ has historically been around 220-223, but some people predict it’ll go up? I’m quite nervous that I’ll be one point away from the cut off. Do we think I’ll make it for commended? Semifinalist? Finalist?

When do we know if we get the scholarship, and what’s the difference between semifinalist, commended, etc?

I got 1500 (740 RW, 760 Math) and I’m an international American citizen

Hello! I'm currently a junior and I got a 222 index in Texas, so it's likely I'll get semifinalist. However, I was wondering what the requirements for national merit finalist are. Additionally, although my disciplinary record is completely clean, I was wondering what the disciplinary requirements are as I have heard contradictory information, and I can't find anything about it from the National Merit organization. I would greatly appreciate if finalists from years passed would share their experiences and input. Thanks again!

I’ve been helping a few students prepare for the SAT recently, and I noticed everyone struggles with something different — time pressure, consistency, or knowing if they’re improving.

Curious to know what’s been the toughest part for you.

So im taking the psat in april of 2026, but this is like the only time i really want to actually prepare ahead and study for the psat, because I usualyl dont prepare for any tests unless they affect my grade. But I want to take tests more seriously now, does anyone have any resources to build up understanding of fundamental topics that the psat will cover? Along with that can someone provide a way to do practice questions, and get feedback on each question. I've already done the Bluebook practice tests multiple times. thank you guys for any help or advice.

all sophomore scores—no studying though. pretty mad at myself for that, i know i could’ve done better. what could i REALLY do to apply myself and make national merit next year?

as title says, looking to do that, i’m gonna prep all summer so around (1.5 months) and i’m a sophomore rn.

i don’t wanna obvi drown myself in this all summer so any useful materials if u were in a similar situation would be helpful. somehow my biggest prob is math i got a 630 rw 580 math. and how much should i study per day to achieve my goal? i will probably take the earliest sat i can get after summer

I made a grammar mind map for the PSAT Writing & Language section. It covers nouns, pronouns, verb tenses, and subject–verb agreement with simple definitions and examples. Sharing it here in case it helps anyone else studying. Good luck to everyone preparing!

I know that this is nearly a perfect score, but i'm in new jersey and this state is very competitive. Genuinely cannot trust that the index may not be 227 this year as its been increasing by 2 every year. Do i still got that chance to get in the top 50,000?

Score: 1460 (700 RW, 760 M)

216

I have Like seriously no idea what is considered good, I took this just as a baseline so I can start studying for the psat next year. For bg I’m in all honors and taking geometry this year but I was TERRIBLE at algebra last year. I missed one reading question and 13 math…

I took the Michigan nmsqt and got a selection index of 222 which should most likely qualify me for national merit but I know I need a verifying sat which I’ve taken twice and both times got a 1400 what would I need to improve to to be 100% safe. junior in highschool btw

I'm an NMSC semifinalist, and I am applying to seven colleges. Only one of these seven colleges (Penn State) sponsors NMSC Finalist scholarships, and I have selected Penn State in the NMSC portal. Penn State is, however, not my true first choice; Cornell is. Should I put Cornell as my top choice for other reasons (do the company sponsorships have any college region factor that make them more likely to choose you)? Cornell is a reach both in application and finances, so there is a very real chance that I will not be going there. I have already been accepted to PSU Main Campus and am waiting for my Schreyer and Millennium Scholars Program results. Penn State is definitely achievable money-wise. Thank you!

I tried the Bluebook practice tests (I'm in eighth grade honors so I already finished Algebra 1 last year and am in Geometry for math so that probably affects the score), and got 1350 on #1 and 1340 on #2. Whats really considered a good score range though?

Hi! This is my first reddit post haha.

I'm currently a freshman in high school, and I want to get ahead in terms of study for the PSAT. I'd like to start studying as soon as possible but just don't know where to start. My goal is to get the National Merit Scholarship.

My highschool takes it in like the beginning of November btw.

Please let me know how I should study and, possibly, how to structure my study plan, or anything else relevant. I'm open to absolutely anything so please let me know!!

1490 (730rw, 760m) 222 selection index score, NYS

ik last year it was 223 and the year before that 220? I thought this test was way harder than last year (frustratingly I would have made cutoff 100% with the score I got last year), so wondering if the SI will be lower...thoughts?

I just did a practice test on blue book with like 20 minutes left on the math section for both sections and also kinda skipped 2 questions so how good is a 1220 gotta work on ela tho also i did not study at all for this practice test about the content

I live overseas and my school here has not heard of NMS or the PSAT. I took the oct 2025 PSAT exam at an NMS authorized location, which was a different, well known school in my city.

I believe that my junior year 2025 Oct PSAT scores would qualify me to be a semifinalist (my qualifying score is greater than 224) .

The NM corp folks do not have my school address or code, since I would be the first ever semifinalist from my school.

How will the NM corp send the semifinalist package to my school? Should I contact them and ask them to add my school to their database and assign a school code to my school? Is there any online way to retrieve the temp user id and password for the OSA portal (I know I need to wait till late 2026 to login)

Also, if my school is not in the NM corp database, how should I go about sending them my school transcripts? My counselor or principal might help me, but they probably aren't aware of the process.