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The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organization.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=NMSC Corporate Brochure )〕 The program began in 1955. NMSC conducts two annual competitions for recognition and scholarships: the National Merit Scholarship Program, which is open to all students who meet entry requirements, and the National Achievement Scholarship Program (est. 1964) in which only African American students participate. The highest achieving students in the National Merit Scholarship Program are designated as National Merit Scholars.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nationalmerit.org/nmsp.php )〕 The corporation's headquarters are located in Evanston, Illinois. Finalists and semifinalists are also given recognition for their academic and extracurricular achievements. Commended Students are named on the basis of a nationally applied Selection Index score that may vary from year to year and is typically below the level required for participants to be named Semifinalists in their respective states. Each year's Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®) is the qualifying test designated for entry to a particular year's competitions.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nationalmerit.org/entering.php#scores )〕 About 1.5 million students in some 22,000 high schools enter the National Merit Scholarship competition annually when they take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). This serves as an initial screen of program entrants, and measures critical reading ability, mathematics problem solving ability and writing ability, rather than existing knowledge.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=https://www.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt )〕 Semifinalists are designated on a state representational basis, contingent on the total number of entrants and in proportion to each state’s percentage of the nation’s high school graduating seniors.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=National Merit Scholarship Corporation )〕 Semifinalists are the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represent the top 0.5% percent of the state’s senior students.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=National Merit Scholarship Winners )〕 To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, Semifinalists have to fulfill requirements to advance to Finalist standing. Each Semifinalist submits a detailed scholarship application, which includes essays and information about extracurricular achievements, awards, and leadership positions. Semifinalists also have to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a school official, and earn SAT scores that confirm their qualifying test performance. From the Semifinalist group, a certain number of students, varying from year to year, advance to Finalist standing depending on the above criteria. By the conclusion of the competition, a select group of Finalists are chosen to receive prestigious National Merit Scholarships totaling nearly $35 million.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.nationalmerit.org/11_Merit2500Scholar.pdf )〕 Winners are the Finalist candidates judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous university studies. Scholarship winners represent less than 1% of the initial pool of student entrants, based on official statistics released by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.〔 == Program entry requirements == To enter the competition, a student must *Be enrolled full-time as a high school student progressing normally toward completion of high school and planning to enroll full-time in college in the fall following the completion of high school; *Be a citizen of the United States or be a U.S. lawful permanent resident who intends to become a U.S. citizen at the earliest opportunity allowed by law, or have applied for permanent residency with the intention of becoming a U.S. citizen at the earliest possible opportunity and have not been denied; and *Take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in the specified year of the high school program, usually the junior (11th grade) year and usually at one's own school. Students completing high school in three (3) years or less must be in the last or next-to-last year of high school when they take the test. Students unable to take the exam because of an extenuating circumstance, such as severe illness or natural disaster, may be permitted to substitute subsequent SAT results by making arrangements with NMSC no later than March 1 following the exam that was missed. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「National Merit Scholarship Program」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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