What are the National Recognition Programs?
College Board's four recognition programs—National African American Recognition Program, National Hispanic Recognition Program, National Indigenous Recognition Program and National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program—award academic honors to underrepresented students.
Students who take eligible administrations of the PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, or AP Exams will be considered for awards. Students must also identify as African American/Black, Hispanic/Latinx, Indigenous, or attend high school in a rural area or small town. Students should include this academic honor in their college and scholarship applications.
How do I apply?
Students with eligible scores in eligible exam windows who have disclosed their race/ethnicity and their high school will be formally invited to apply.
How do I know if I'm eligible?
The application is open to current sophomores in the class of 2024 and current juniors in the class of 2023. To qualify, students must meet the following eligibility requirements:
Sophomores
- Must have a 3.5 GPA or higher at the time they are submitting the application. Both weighted and unweighted GPAs are considered.
- Must have permanent address in the United States, a United States Territory, US military base or attend a Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) school. U.S. citizenship is not required.
- Must identify as African American, Hispanic, Indigenous, or attend high school in a rural area or small town.
- Must have taken the PSAT/NMSQT in Fall 2021 OR at least two distinct AP Exams in 8th or 9th grade.
Juniors
- Must have a 3.5 GPA or higher at the time they are submitting the application. Both weighted and unweighted GPAs are considered.
- Must have permanent address in the United States, a United States Territory, US military base or attend a DoDEA school. U.S. citizenship is not required.
- Must identify as African American, Hispanic American, Indigenous, or attend high school in a rural area or small town.
- Must have taken the PSAT 10 in Spring 2021 OR the PSAT/NMSQT in Fall 2021 OR at least two distinct AP exams in 8th, 9th or 10th grade.
Score Eligibility
Sophomores and juniors are score eligible if they score in the top 10% on the PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 within program by state in the eligible exam periods. Sophomores and juniors are also score eligible if they score a 3 or higher on two or more distinct AP Exams in the eligible exam periods.
Please note that for class of 2023, previous awardees are included in the calculations for the top 10% within program by state.
Program Rules
- Students will only receive outreach related to recognition programs if they have consented to receive College Board outreach. Students who have opted out of College Board outreach and believe they meet the eligibility criteria must self-nominate.
- Students will be considered for the Rural and Small Town Recognition Program based on the location of their high school. Areas are considered rural and/or small towns based on location data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Students who believe they reside in a rural or small town but did not receive an invitation are welcome to self-nominate. Please note that Rural and Small Town eligibility is determined by NCES data as of March 7, 2022.
- Students considered for the African American Recognition Program must identify as Black or African American (including African and Afro-Caribbean origin) and have permanent address in the United States, a United States Territory, US military base or attend a DoDEA school. Students who believe they are eligible for African American Recognition but did not receive an invitation are welcome to self-nominate.
- Students considered for the Hispanic Recognition Program must identify as Hispanic or Latinx and have permanent address in the United States, a United States Territory, US military base or attend a DoDEA school. Students who believe they are eligible for Hispanic Recognition but did not receive an invitation are welcome to self-nominate.
- Students considered for the Indigenous Recognition Program must identify as Alaska Native, Native American, or Native Hawaiian and have permanent address in the United States, a United States Territory, US military base or attend a DoDEA school. Students who believe they are eligible for Indigenous Recognition but did not receive an invitation are welcome to self-nominate.
- This is not a scholarship program. Students will receive academic honors that can be included in college and scholarship applications.
- Please note, students in class of 2023 who have previously received recognition are not eligible for the same award. Students can only be awarded once per program during their high school enrollment.
- The College Board National Recognition Programs are not affiliated with the National Merit® Scholarship Program.