Your Selection Index, checked against the Commended cutoff and your state's Semifinalist line
| State | Class of 2026 (actual) | Class of 2027 (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 214 | 213 |
| Alaska | 215 | 213 |
| Arizona | 218 | 218 |
| Arkansas | 215 | 213 |
| California | 224 | 221 |
| Colorado | 219 | 218 |
| Connecticut | 223 | 221 |
| Delaware | 220 | 219 |
| District of Columbia | 225 | 223 |
| Florida | 219 | 217 |
| Georgia | 220 | 219 |
| Hawaii | 219 | 217 |
| Idaho | 215 | 214 |
| Illinois | 222 | 220 |
| Indiana | 218 | 216 |
| Iowa | 214 | 213 |
| Kansas | 216 | 215 |
| Kentucky | 214 | 214 |
| Louisiana | 216 | 214 |
| Maine | 217 | 214 |
| Maryland | 224 | 222 |
| Massachusetts | 225 | 223 |
| Michigan | 220 | 218 |
| Minnesota | 219 | 218 |
| Mississippi | 213 | 212 |
| Missouri | 217 | 215 |
| Montana | 213 | 210 |
| Nebraska | 214 | 212 |
| Nevada | 214 | 214 |
| New Hampshire | 219 | 216 |
| New Jersey | 225 | 223 |
| New Mexico | 210 | 212 |
| New York | 223 | 220 |
| North Carolina | 220 | 218 |
| North Dakota | 210 | 209 |
| Ohio | 219 | 217 |
| Oklahoma | 212 | 212 |
| Oregon | 219 | 217 |
| Pennsylvania | 221 | 219 |
| Rhode Island | 219 | 217 |
| South Carolina | 215 | 214 |
| South Dakota | 211 | 209 |
| Tennessee | 219 | 217 |
| Texas | 222 | 219 |
| Utah | 213 | 212 |
| Vermont | 216 | 214 |
| Virginia | 224 | 222 |
| Washington | 224 | 222 |
| West Virginia | 210 | 208 |
| Wisconsin | 215 | 214 |
| Wyoming | 210 | 209 |
| U.S. territories | 210 | 208 |
| Studying outside the U.S. | 225 | 223 |
Class of 2026 figures are official NMSC Semifinalist cutoffs; class of 2027 figures are Compass Education Group estimates (most-likely values, as of August 2026) ahead of the September 2026 announcement. Commended Student cutoffs are national: 210 (class of 2026) and 208 (class of 2027). Early class-of-2027 reports have already come in below some estimates — Alabama 210, California 220, Florida 216, Texas 219 among them — so treat the right-hand column as a range, not a promise.
| R&W | Math | Selection Index | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 760 | 760 | 228 | Maximum; clears every cutoff ever set |
| 740 | 730 | 221 | Semifinalist range in most states |
| 720 | 700 | 214 | Semifinalist in roughly half the states (class of 2026) |
| 700 | 680 | 208 | At the Commended line |
| 660 | 640 | 196 | Strong score, below National Merit range |
| 590 | 570 | 175 | Around the 80th percentile |
Spot-check the math: (2×740 + 730) ÷ 10 = 221; (2×700 + 680) ÷ 10 = 208; (2×590 + 570) ÷ 10 = 175. The index rewards verbal balance — a 760/640 split scores 216 while 640/760 scores only 204.
The calculator applies the official NMSC formula to your two PSAT section scores and reads the result against the two thresholds that matter: the national Commended cutoff and your state's Semifinalist cutoff.
Selection Index = (2 × R&W + Math) ÷ 10. Each section runs 160-760, so the index runs 48-228. NMSC doubles the verbal score because the PSAT's two verbally-weighted sections (Reading and Writing) are reported as one number. Round nothing — the division is exact on real scores.
Enter the two section scores from your PSAT/NMSQT score report (not the total — the total is just their sum) and pick your state. The verdict compares you against last cycle's actual cutoff and the current-cycle estimate. If you're within about 3 points of your state's line, treat it as live: cutoffs move a point or two most years, and the class of 2027 is expected to move more.
The Texas junior: 720 R&W + 700 Math = (1,440 + 700) ÷ 10 = 214. Comfortably Commended (208-210) — but Texas sat at 222 for the class of 2026 and is estimated at 219 for 2027, so this score is 5-8 points short in Texas. The same 214 would have made Semifinalist in Utah (213), Mississippi (213), or Oklahoma (212) last cycle.
The balanced scorer: 700 R&W + 760 Math = (1,400 + 760) ÷ 10 = 216. Identical total (1,460) to a 750 R&W + 710 Math profile — but that one indexes 221. The doubling is worth five points here, which is why National Merit hopefuls drill verbal.
Selection Index = (2 × Reading & Writing section score + Math section score) ÷ 10. Each PSAT section score runs 160-760, so the index runs 48-228. Because Reading & Writing is doubled, verbal strength counts twice as much as math. Example: 720 R&W plus 700 Math gives (1,440 + 700) ÷ 10 = 214. The doubling exists because the PSAT has two verbal sections (Reading and Writing) folded into one score, versus a single Math score.
The Commended cutoff is national: 208 for the class of 2027 (210 for the class of 2026). Semifinalist cutoffs are set state by state: for the class of 2026 they ran from 210 (New Mexico, North Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming) to 225 (DC, Massachusetts, New Jersey), with big states like California at 224 and Texas at 222. Compass Education Group's estimates for the class of 2027 run 208-223, with most states expected to fall a point or two after a strong 2026 cycle.
About 50,000 of the roughly 1.3+ million entrants score high enough to hear from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Around two-thirds become Commended Students — recognized, eligible for some corporate scholarships, but out of the main competition. Roughly 16,000 become Semifinalists, the top scorers in each state, and about 15,000 of those advance to Finalist by submitting grades, an essay, and a recommendation. Only Finalists can win the roughly 7,250 National Merit scholarships.
High scorers learn they're in the top 50,000 in the spring after the October PSAT, usually April, when Commended thresholds start to circulate. State Semifinalist cutoffs are final in September of senior year, when high schools receive the list of Semifinalists — for the class of 2027, that September 2026 announcement. Everything published before then is either last year's actual or a forecast (Compass Education Group's are the most followed).
Semifinalists are allotted roughly in proportion to each state's share of the national graduating class, so each state has its own qualifying score. That produces the spread: Massachusetts, New Jersey, and DC sit at 223-225 for the class of 2026 while the Dakotas and Mountain West sit near 210. California (224), Texas (222), and New York (223) are high because they combine strong score distributions with huge cohorts. Moving after junior year doesn't help — eligibility follows the state where you attend school when you take the test.
A 228 tops every cutoff ever published, so score-wise yes. But Semifinalist status also requires meeting NMSC's entry requirements — taking the PSAT/NMSQT in the designated year (usually junior year), being enrolled as a high school student planning to enroll in college, and submitting the entry information. Advancing to Finalist then depends on the full application: academic record, coursework difficulty, essay, and school recommendation, plus a qualifying SAT or ACT score if NMSC requests confirmation.