The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic achievement competition that recognizes and honors outstanding students with scholarship opportunities each year. The University of Oklahoma awards eligible admitted students named National Merit Semifinalist or National Merit Finalist a competitive scholarship package to empower their academic journeys and potential at OU. To ensure you meet the necessary deadlines and criteria, please review the important step-by-step process outlined below.
The junior year PSAT/NMSQT is offered in October and is the only qualifying entrance exam into the National Merit competition. Cutoff scores to achieve Semifinalist standing vary by state.
In early September of senior year, The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) will announce approximately 16,000 Semifinalists of those who tested.
Semifinalists will apply for Finalist standing around mid-October. Approximately 90% of all Semifinalists will advance to Finalist standing in the competition.
To meet the priority scholarship deadline, apply to OU by December 15! Incoming freshmen can apply one of three ways:
Regardless of application type, all applications are thoroughly read by an admissions counselor and are evaluated holistically.
NMSC will accept your best composite score through the December test date of your senior year. Update or send new scores through the College Board at sat.collegeboard.org.
You must have a record of consistent high academic performance in grades 9 through 12 and in any college courses you may have taken. Your SAT or ACT score must complement your PSAT/NMSQT performance. Visit nationalmerit.org for more details.
We encourage all students to schedule a visit to explore all that the University of Oklahoma has to offer. During your visit, you will learn about the Honors College, our academic programs, and scholarships for high-achieving students.
To ensure you can take full advantage of your visit, we will set up an appointment that allows you to meet and learn from a professor, department chairperson, or college dean in the field you are interested in. Honors Personalized Visits are offered on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the fall and spring semesters.
In early February, NMSC will mail notification letters to Finalists. Those who do not advance to Finalist standing are notified in January. Colleges are not notified of students who do not advance. Please notify us if you advance to a Finalist so we can upgrade your scholarship award offer. Finalists may list a “school of choice” at osa.nationalmerit.org. You can continue to change your school decision as many times as you like before the NSMC's School of Choice deadline.
A Finalist could receive one of three sponsorship offers. Those receiving the Corporate or National sponsorships will be notified in late March or early April. Corporate sponsorships are generally given to students with family ties to a NMSC partnering corporation. Roughly 10% of Finalists in each state will receive a National Award sponsored by NMSC.
After you are admitted to OU, you will have a post-admissions checklist to complete. These steps include setting up your OU account, submitting the enrollment deposit, completing your housing application, and scheduling your New Sooner Orientation day.
You will find information on all these steps in OU Bound, which you can access by logging in to the OU Bound portal. OU Admissions will email you when checklist items become available to complete.
In early May, NMSC will begin mailing the College-sponsored award letters from partnering institutions to Finalist recipients. OU is a partnering institution (not all colleges sponsor). Approximately 80% of Finalists will receive a College-sponsored award.
To be guaranteed OU’s National Merit scholarship, admitted Finalists must designate OU as their “school of choice” or list “undecided” with NMSC by the end of April. If you’re not sure of your college choice, list “undecided.” Students who list “undecided” have until the end of May to name OU as their college choice to receive our scholarship.
Somewhere between late March and June, admitted Finalists are designated as National Merit Scholars upon accepting the one award offer received and naming OU as their “school of choice.” The official Scholar announcement by NMSC is not made until the summer.
By the end of May, students who previously listed “undecided” or who received a Corporate or National-sponsored award must designate OU as their “school of choice” at osa.nationalmerit.org to receive OU’s National Merit financial package. For a complete list of competition rules, visit nationalmerit.org.
From May to July, students will be able to schedule their New Sooner Orientation day, a day where you will meet with your academic advisor, enroll in your first semester of OU courses, and learn more about campus before you join the OU Family in fall.
Those who complete a housing application and submit an enrollment deposit by May 1 can participate in room selection. Housing room selection access times will be determined by your enrollment deposit date. During room selection, you and your roommates can choose your room. Visit housing.ou.edu to learn more about your housing options and view our housing FAQ page. More information will be sent to your OU email over the summer about specifics on housing selection and move-in information.
Students may be able to review the academic calendar to note important dates and deadlines for the semester. Students can add/drop courses as determined by the Office of the Registrar. Please remember that, according to OU’s National Merit Terms of Scholarship to be eligible for National Merit Funding, a student must continue to be enrolled full-time for the fall and spring semesters.
As you continue your journey at OU, there are also exciting opportunities outside of the classroom with study abroad and research experiences. These have available stipends and funding if National Merit students complete the necessary forms by the appropriate deadline.
April 15: Deadline for Summer & Fall Programs
December 1: Deadline for Spring Programs
Please view the frequently asked questions below, and feel free to contact your admissions counselor with any additional questions you may have.
The first step in the process is to take the PSAT/NMSQT in your junior year of high school. NMSC will look at your Selection Index Score on the PSAT/NMSQT to determine if you are a Semifinalist. Semifinalist scores vary by state. There is more detailed information about this process on the NMSC website.
You will learn of your Semifinalist standing in early to mid-September of your senior year in high school. NMSC will then notify your high school and provide them with application materials for the next stage in the process—becoming a National Merit Finalist.
Here are a few things NMSC requires you to do to advance to Finalist standing (for a complete list, visit www.nationalmerit.org):
You will be notified in early February at your home address if you have advanced to Finalist standing.
College choice is the school that you designate with NMSC as the school that you plan to attend. It is important because the school that you have designated by the deadline is the only school that can give you the College-sponsored Award.
You can select your college by submitting it online. You can change your college choice as many times as you would like before NMSC's and OU's end-of-April deadline.
Our deadline is the same as the NMSC deadline: April 30. Since NMSC begins making College-sponsored awards on May 1, OU's priority deadline for finalists to receive our National Merit scholarship is April 30. If you have "undecided" listed as your college choice before our April 30 priority deadline, or if you received a corporate or national-sponsored award, name OU as your college choice to receive our scholarship. For a complete list of competition rules, visit www.nationalmerit.org.
Scholars receive one of the three types of awards which are centrally coordinated by NMSC.
The first type of award is the National Award: a $2,500 scholarship, which is funded directly by NMSC. This award is portable, meaning that you can take it to any institution of your choice.
The second type of award is the Corporate-sponsored Award, which is generally awarded to students who are children of parents/legal guardians who work for a corporation that sponsors. This award is also portable. (Refer to your original information packet from NMSC for a list of corporations that sponsor.)
The final type of award is the College-sponsored Award, which comes from the college that you designate as your college choice, provided that the college sponsors National Merit Finalists.
Note: You will only be offered one of these awards, even if you qualify for all. You should accept the one award that is offered to you.
Students are not guaranteed they will receive a scholarship coordinated by NMSC. If a student chooses to attend a university that does not sponsor or selectively sponsors (and the student is not among those selected), and the student does not receive the National Award or Corporate-sponsored Award, the student would remain a Finalist.
