Class of 2017 National Merit PSAT Cutoff Scores

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Why Is PSAT Important?

PSAT is the doorway to a National Merit Scholarship.

PSAT scores just came out! Many parents and students don’t take the PSAT seriously because they think of it as a “Practice” SAT.

However, the PSAT is important because it is also the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT). If you score high enough on it, you can qualify to become a National Merit Finalist!

Becoming a National Merit Finalist is valuable for 3 reasons:

• National Merit looks really impressive on your college application
• The National Merit Scholarship is worth $2,500 to any college of your choice
• Many universities automatically give National Merit semifinalists half-tuition or full-tuition scholarships

Essentially, you can get $100,000 – $200,000 in scholarships for scoring high on this one test that is 2 hours and 45 minutes long!

What Are Cutoff Scores?

How high do you need to score on the PSAT in order to qualify to become a National Merit Semifinalist?

Well, the cutoff score changes every year for each state depending on how well students in that state do on the PSAT that year.

Typically, more academically competitive states have higher PSAT cutoffs. However, cutoff scores are typically around the same for each state from year to year.

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But since the PSAT is now out of 1520 points (rather than 240 points previously), no one knows what the National Merit PSAT Cutoff Scores are until the College Board releases them.

However, below is a rough estimate based on the previous The College Board’s concordance table for each state:

Class of 2017 New PSAT National Merit Cutoff Scores (Updated Per The College Board)

Alabama — 1420
Alaska — 1400
Arizona — 1440
Arkansas — 1390
California — 1470
Colorado — 1440
Connecticut — 1460
Delaware — 1450
District of Columbia — 1480
Florida — 1440
Georgia — 1450
Hawaii — 1440
Idaho — 1410
Illinois — 1440
Indiana — 1440
Iowa — 1410
Kansas — 1440
Kentucky — 1420
Louisiana — 1430
Maine — 1430
Maryland — 1470
Massachusetts — 1470
Michigan — 1420
Minnesota — 1440
Mississippi — 1420
Missouri — 1420
Montana — 1390
Nebraska — 1420
Nevada — 1430
New Hampshire — 1440
New Jersey — 1480
New Mexico — 1410
New York — 1460
North Carolina — 1440
North Dakota — 1440
Ohio — 1440
Oklahoma — 1410
Oregon — 1440
Pennsylvania — 1450
Rhode Island — 1430
South Carolina — 1430
South Dakota — 1380
Tennessee — 1430
Texas — 1460
Utah — 1400
Vermont — 1440
Virginia — 1470
Washington — 1450
West Virginia — 1380
Wisconsin — 1410
Wyoming — 1380

When You Need To Take The PSAT To Qualify

The PSAT only counts toward National Merit when you take it in October of your junior year.

You cannot take it again like the SAT and ACT. The SAT and ACT also do not qualify you for National Merit. So hopefully you’re now convinced of the importance of the PSAT!

Of course, if you don’t score high on the PSAT, you can always score high on the SAT or ACT in order to qualify for other scholarships.

If you are a sophomore and your scores do not qualify for National Merit, it’s important that you enroll in one of our SAT classes!

This will over-prepare you for the PSAT in your junior year so that you qualify for National Merit.

Sign Up For a New SAT Prep Course Taught By Perfect SAT Scorer, #1 Bestselling Author, & Yale MD/MBA Student Shaan Patel

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