Presidential Scholars Program

The United States Presidential Scholars Program recognizes and honors distinguished graduating high school seniors.

Program Details

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields. Each year, up to 161 students are named by the United States Department of Education as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students.

Eligibility

Application for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program is by invitation only. Students may not apply individually to the program. In order to receive an invitation to apply, you must automatically qualify with your exceptional test score on either the SAT or ACT or be nominated by your state.

The majority of the candidate pool is comprised of students who score exceptionally well on either the SAT or ACT. However, Florida’s Commissioner of Education also has the honor of submitting select students for consideration, based on school district nominations.

Each fall, school districts are given the opportunity to nominate one student in each of the three categories: general academics, the Arts, and Career and Technical Education (CTE). From the nominations submitted by each district, the state reviews and selects a maximum of twenty students for the general academic category, five students for CTE and five students for the Arts. The state nominations are then sent to the national program and become a part of the national pool of candidates. Final selections for the award are chosen at the national level.