National Merit Semifinalist 2024 Cutoff. To become a semifinalist and be eligible for a national merit scholarship, you must meet the following four requirements set by the national merit scholarship corporation. Nmsc only releases information regarding semifinalists and scholarship winners to media.

A semifinalist must fulfill several additional requirements and advance to the finalist level of the competition before being considered for a national merit scholarship. [boarding school students must meet regional, rather than state, cutoffs.]