The National Merit Selection Index = (2 × Reading & Writing + Math) ÷ 10, topping out at 228. For the class of 2026, state Semifinalist cutoffs ran 210 to 225 — 210 in North Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming, and New Mexico; 223 in New York; 224 in California; 225 in DC, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. The Commended cutoff was 210, and it's 208 for the class of 2027, whose state cutoffs are announced in September 2026.
Your PSAT report shows two section scores, each from 160 to 760. The Selection Index doubles the verbal one:
SI = (2 × R&W + Math) ÷ 10
The doubling rewards verbal balance in a way that surprises strong math students. A 760 Math / 640 R&W profile indexes (1,280 + 760) ÷ 10 = 204. Flip it — 760 R&W / 640 Math — and the same 1,400 total indexes 216. Twelve points for the same composite, which in cutoff terms is the difference between Commended and Semifinalist in a dozen states.
| State | 2026 (actual) | 2027 (est.) |
|---|---|---|
| California | 224 | 221 |
| Texas | 222 | 219 |
| New York | 223 | 220 |
| Florida | 219 | 217 |
| Illinois | 222 | 220 |
| Pennsylvania | 221 | 219 |
| Ohio | 219 | 217 |
| Georgia | 220 | 219 |
| Virginia | 224 | 222 |
| Maryland | 224 | 222 |
| Massachusetts | 225 | 223 |
| New Jersey | 225 | 223 |
| DC | 225 | 223 |
| Washington | 224 | 222 |
| Colorado | 219 | 218 |
| Michigan | 220 | 218 |
| North Carolina | 220 | 218 |
| Arizona | 218 | 218 |
| Utah | 213 | 212 |
| Oklahoma | 212 | 212 |
| Mississippi | 213 | 212 |
| North Dakota | 210 | 209 |
| West Virginia | 210 | 208 |
| Wyoming | 210 | 209 |
| New Mexico | 210 | 212 |
Selected states shown — the full 50-state table with every cutoff lives in the calculator, which also computes your index from your own scores. Class of 2027 numbers are Compass Education Group estimates as of August 2026; early reports (Alabama 210, California 220, Florida 216, Texas 219) suggest a softening cycle after the record-high class of 2026.
Enter your two section scores and your state — get your Selection Index, the margin, and a read on where you stand.
Open the PSAT National Merit Index Calculator →NMSC allots Semifinalists roughly in proportion to each state's share of graduating seniors, then sets each state's cutoff to hit that allotment. Result: the same 218 index that makes Semifinalist in Indiana or Arizona falls short in New Jersey. It also means the spread is stable-ish year to year — the high-cost, high-education states cluster at the top — but individual states bounce a point or two annually with the score distribution.
One quirk worth knowing: eligibility follows the state where you take the test as a junior, so a senior-year move can't game it. Boarding school students are pooled into a special national group rather than their school's state.
The money comes in three flavors: the $2,500 single-payment National Merit Scholarship, corporate-sponsored awards, and college-sponsored packages that at some sponsoring schools grow into the largest line of a financial aid letter. Finalist status travels well even where the official scholarship doesn't.
If your index sits within three points of your state's recent cutoff, you're in live territory: cutoffs moved as much as five points in some states between 2025 and 2026. If you're a sophomore reading this, your qualifying test is next October — and since the index doubles verbal, the highest-payoff prep is reading pace and grammar conventions, not another round of math drills. To see where practice scores land you, the SAT score calculator converts raw sections to scaled scores, and the SAT to ACT conversion is useful when you're deciding which official test to take in the spring.
It depends entirely on your state. For the class of 2026, anything from 210 (North Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming, New Mexico) to 225 (DC, Massachusetts, New Jersey) made Semifinalist, and the Commended cutoff was 210 nationally. A practical target: 220+ puts you in Semifinalist range in most states; 223+ covers all but the toughest (MA, NJ, DC); 228 is perfect. For the class of 2027, estimates run 208-223 with most states expected to drop a point or two.
Selection Index = (2 × Reading & Writing + Math) ÷ 10, using your two PSAT section scores (each 160-760). The index runs 48-228. Verbal is doubled because the PSAT folds two verbal sections into one score. Example: 720 R&W and 700 Math give (1,440 + 700) ÷ 10 = 214. And the doubling bites: a 760 Math / 640 R&W profile indexes 204, while the flipped 760 R&W / 640 Math profile indexes 216 — twelve points apart on the same composite.
Commended Students (roughly 34,000 a year) don't continue in the National Merit Scholarship competition, but the letter is a genuine credential for applications, and some corporate-sponsored scholarships are reserved for Commended students specifically. It signals top-3%-ish scoring nationally. The recognition is announced in late September of senior year along with Semifinalists.
NMSC awards roughly 7,250 scholarships: $2,500 single-payment National Merit Scholarships, corporate-sponsored awards (often renewable, sometimes tied to a parent's employer), and college-sponsored awards that can run to full tuition or more at sponsoring schools. Many colleges outside the official program also offer large guaranteed aid for Finalists. The score itself opens doors; the essay and application decide the money.
The qualifying test is the October PSAT/NMSQT of junior year, so the summer before junior year is the practical runway. Because the Selection Index doubles verbal, students chasing cutoffs usually profit most from grammar, rhetoric, and reading-pace work. And take the test seriously even beyond National Merit: the PSAT is also the qualifying route for other programs and a dry run for the SAT.