This article investigates gender inequity in the National Merit Scholarship Competition. Results suggest the competition favors males due to their higher mean score on the mathematics section and greater variability on all sections of the PSAT, which shares differential validity concerns with the SAT in terms of gender. These instruments are designed to predict first-year college success, but have historically under-predicted the abilities of girls compared to boys. Reasons for this disparity are explored and through a statistical analysis utilizing data provided by the College Board, it is predicted that most National Merit semifinalists and finalists are male despite the fact that the majority of participants in the competition are female. This study underscores the problematic practice of using PSAT cutoff scores as the sole measure of merit in the first two phases and SAT scores in the final stage of the National Merit Scholarship Competition, a selection process that runs contrary to best practices in the use of standardized tests. (Contains 4 tables and 1 footnote.)