About
National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization headquartered at 1560 Sherman Avenue in Evanston, Illinois. Established in 1955, NMSC conducts the National Merit Scholarship Program, an annual nationwide academic competition that recognizes and rewards exceptionally talented American high school students with college undergraduate scholarships. The corporation operates without government assistance, relying on an independent base of roughly 400 corporate and college sponsors who underwrite the majority of its scholarships.
Mission
The mission of NMSC is to recognize and honor the academically talented students of the United States. Its enduring goals are to promote a wider and deeper respect for learning in general and for exceptionally talented individuals in particular, to shine a spotlight on brilliant students and encourage the pursuit of academic excellence at all levels of education, and to stimulate increased support from individuals and organizations that wish to sponsor scholarships for outstanding scholastic talent.
What they do
- National Merit Scholarship Program — an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. Approximately 1.5 million high school students enter each year by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), usually as juniors. Scholarship winners are chosen from program Finalists based on abilities, skills, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in college and beyond.
- Special Scholarships — corporate-sponsored awards for high-performing participants who meet a sponsor's eligibility criteria.
- National Achievement Scholarship Program (1964-2015) — initiated to identify academically promising Black American youth and encourage their pursuit of higher education; approximately 228,000 students were recognized and more than 34,000 received Achievement Scholarship awards before the program transitioned to UNCF after 2015.
History
NMSC was established in 1955, at a time of concern that the United States was lagging in the Cold War scientific race while the public was indifferent to rewarding intellectual accomplishment. Participation has grown from 58,158 student entrants at 10,388 high schools in 1956 to 1,477,188 entrants at 22,207 high schools in 2015.
Scale and impact
Since its founding, NMSC has recognized more than 3.6 million students and provided some 490,000 scholarships worth over 1.9 billion dollars. The honors it awards are widely viewed as definitive marks of academic excellence.
Financials
According to IRS Form 990 data on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (EIN 36-2307745), for the fiscal year ending May 2025 NMSC reported total revenue of 59.1 million dollars, total expenses of 44.7 million dollars, and net assets of 152.8 million dollars. Contributions accounted for about half of revenue. The organization has held federal tax exemption since 1957.
Governance
Timothy E. McGuire serves as President, per the organization's IRS filings. NMSC is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and contributions are tax deductible.
