It's not that hard, I got it last year...
/claim
But seriously, something like 7 or 8 thousand end up getting money (a "National Merit Scholar" as opposed to finalist), which isn't that bad of odds.
It's not that much money though, I got something like a $3,000 scholarship. Which isn't terrible, money's money, right? Just don't expect like a full ride or anything even if you do well enough to get it, that was my mistake.