<p>i’m an hs sophmore, how do you become a national merit finalist and what does this do for you?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Take the PSAT. My school required it of I.B. students, but usually you might have to opt to take it. It only counts toward N.M. if you take it in 11th grade. Do NOT consider it a “practice SAT,” because if you do well on it, you could be commended as a N.M. scholar.</p></li>
<li><p><a href=“http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php[/url]”>http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php</a> <– for more details.
But basically, if you score in the highest, like, 1% of the people in your state taking the test, you can progress toward being a N.M. finalist, which can get you N.M. scholarships, corporate scholarships, and a lot of money from colleges.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>if the college you attend is on some list of colleges that give national merit awards, you get $2000 a year. at least, that is what i got. </p>
<p>if you transfer, you lose that yearly scholarship though. which sucks. lol.</p>
<p>oh, and you also get your name on some national list and i think a lot of local papers print the list, and your high school will make a big deal out of it at graduation.</p>
<p>Some state schools will gave full rides or merit aid. It is to your advantage to do well on them, but it won’t necessarily hurt you if you don’t.</p>
<p>There’s also the $2500 scholarships NM gives out and the variable-amount scholarships corporations give out. You might want to check to see if your parents’ employers offer scholarships.</p>