National Merit

National Merit cutoffs by state

What it took to qualify as a Semifinalist in every state for the Class of 2027 and the Class of 2026, and a calculator for your own Selection Index. These are past results, published after the selection, so they show where the bar was, not where it will be.

A National Merit cutoff is the Selection Index a student needed to qualify as a Semifinalist in their state.

The short answer

There is no national cutoff for Semifinalist. For the Class of 2027 the qualifying score across the states and the District of Columbia ran from 208 in Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming to 223 in New Jersey and the District of Columbia. The Commended cutoff, the one national figure, was 208.

How the Selection Index works

National Merit does not use the 320 to 1520 total on a PSAT/NMSQT score report. It uses the Selection Index, which is twice the Reading and Writing section score plus the Math section score, divided by ten. A student with 720 in Reading and Writing and 700 in Math has an index of (2 × 720 + 700) ÷ 10 = 214. Because Reading and Writing counts double, two students with the same total can have indexes several points apart; the National Merit page explains what that means for preparing.

Where your index sits

Your Selection Index against the latest cutoff

Type both section scores (each 160 to 760, in tens) to see your index.

Cutoffs by state

National Merit Semifinalist qualifying Selection Index by state, Class of 2027 and Class of 2026
StateClass of 2027Class of 2026Change
Alabama210214−4
Alaska208215−7
Arizona215218−3
Arkansas210215−5
California220224−4
Colorado217219−2
Connecticut220223−3
Delaware219220−1
Florida216219−3
Georgia217220−3
Hawaii218219−1
Idaho211215−4
Illinois218222−4
Indiana215218−3
Iowa210214−4
Kansas212216−4
Kentucky211214−3
Louisiana211216−5
Maine214217−3
Maryland221224−3
Massachusetts221225−4
Michigan216220−4
Minnesota214219−5
Mississippi211213−2
Missouri214217−3
Montana208213−5
Nebraska212214−2
Nevada211214−3
New Hampshire215219−4
New Jersey223225−2
New Mexico209210−1
New York220223−3
North Carolina217220−3
North Dakota208210−2
Ohio216219−3
Oklahoma210212−2
Oregon216219−3
Pennsylvania219221−2
Rhode Island213219−6
South Carolina212215−3
South Dakota210211−1
Tennessee214219−5
Texas219222−3
Utah209213−4
Vermont212216−4
Virginia221224−3
Washington221224−3
West Virginia208210−2
Wisconsin212215−3
Wyoming208210−2
District of Columbia223225−2
Studying Abroad223225−2
U.S. Territories208210−2
Commended (national)208210−2

The Class of 2027 took the PSAT/NMSQT in October 2025 and the Class of 2026 in October 2024. Figures are as compiled by Compass Education from the Semifinalist announcements and read on November 2, 2026. We could not read the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's own pages to check them, so confirm your state's figure with your school counselor or at nationalmerit.org.

Using a past cutoff

A cutoff is set after everyone in the state has tested, so no prep site, this one included, can tell you the number you will face. What a past cutoff is good for is a margin: how far above the latest bar you would want to be for a miss on test day not to decide the outcome. The table shows how much a state's bar moved between two years, which is how much margin to plan for.

To see how a section score maps to a rank among other students, see SAT score percentiles; for the test that leads to this one, see PSAT/NMSQT prep.

Common questions

Is there one national cutoff for National Merit?

No. The Semifinalist qualifying score is set for each state, so the same Selection Index can qualify a student in one state and fall short in another. Only the Commended cutoff is a single national figure.

How is the Selection Index calculated?

Twice the Reading and Writing section score, plus the Math section score, divided by ten. Each PSAT/NMSQT section is scored 160 to 760, so the index runs from 48 to 228.

Will next year’s cutoff match these?

There is no way to know in advance. A cutoff reflects how every other entrant in the state scored that year, and it is published after the selection. These are the two most recent years, shown so you can see how far a state’s bar moves, not as a promise about the next one.

Last reviewed . Cutoffs are past results compiled by a third party; the Selection Index formula is the one the score report prints.