<p>FWIW, no one from my D’s HS can qualify because the school does not, as a matter of policy, compute an official GPA (or class rank for that matter).</p>
<p>QuantMech, you wrote “You do not send the scores anywhere. The scores will automatically be collected by the people at the Department of Education who run the program, unless your daughter checked a box asking that the College Board not share her scores with any program.”
Question: Where is the check box?
Thanks.</p>
<p>I think there is some check box when a student registers for the SAT and probably another when the student registers for the ACT. People sometimes do check it to avoid being inundated by college mail. (Unless, like one of QMP’s friends, they are planning to have a bonfire with all of the excess brochures/apps/mailings.) </p>
<p>If a student should have qualified based on scores (single sitting, still, I think), but doesn’t show up on the list of candidates that’s issued, he/she can still be added to the list. In that case, the student or parent should call the number on the web site. Will try to locate the specific link.</p>
<p>Here it is:
[Contacts</a> – U.S. Presidential Scholars Program](<a href=“http://www2.ed.gov/programs/psp/contacts.html]Contacts”>Contacts -- U.S. Presidential Scholars Program)</p>
<p>The cut-offs for the Presidential Scholars program can be quite high, even if the PSAT cut-off for National Merit Semi-Finalists in the state is not especially high. Cut-offs tend to be lower in states with relatively small populations.</p>
<p>Cut-offs are likely to have risen in states where all juniors take the ACT as part of the No Child Left Behind testing.</p>
<p>S2 made it to semi finalist. He took the ACT and he must have checked a box at that time. Our state had more than 20 boys/girls because they added into the mix a handful of kids who were nominated for excelling in the arts. </p>
<p>He is in the Honors Program at our state flagship and his school must have used the criteria for rooming selections. He, his roommate and the two guys next door were all semi finalists.</p>
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<p>I was a Presidential Scholar when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and we were not addressed by the President. I honestly don’t remember who gave us our medals.</p>
<p>On the other hand, some private foundation surprised us with $1K scholarship checks.</p>
<p>We had fun staying in the dorms at, IIRC, Georgetown and touring around Washington on buses. </p>
<p>Quite a few of the other scholars were my college classmates, but I can’t say I really kept in touch with them. But it was nice having several familiar faces that first week or so.</p>
<p>Here is a better link indicating the contacts for a student who might have scored very high on the SAT or ACT, but wasn’t on the candidate list:
[Frequently</a> Asked Questions – U.S. Presidential Scholars Program](<a href=“Frequently Asked Questions -- U.S. Presidential Scholars Program”>Frequently Asked Questions -- U.S. Presidential Scholars Program)</p>
<p>Incidentally, the application has to be received by Feb. 23 (regardless of when the student gains access to the application materials), and the essays are fairly time-consuming, so an interested and potentially eligible student should follow up. They have to verify eligibility before you can access the application.</p>
<p>QuantMech, Thanks for the info.</p>
<p>I was a scholar probably around the same time as DeskPotato (we got the surprise check as well)…we didn’t see the POTUS at all, but the VPOTUS did talk at us. Then he disappeared and the secretary of education gave us our medals. No families around, though, except (I think) maybe at the concert where the arts scholars performed. What I remember most is the HEAT - DC in the summer.</p>
<p>There were 8 scholars in my class at my college, and we were spread out all over the place, FWIW. I think only two of them were even in the same dorm.</p>
<p>One of mine was qualified ( in a big population state) Its mostly a program that really means nothing. She spent large amounts of time filling out the forms (already accepted ED to her HYPSM school) because the school counselor urged her to. She progressed to the next level, but by then it meant nothing (too late for any college applications)
If your student is one of the few from your state,It’s a nice honor for your family and a good student but means nothing to colleges. They already know you have top scores. Quite frankly I think we could drop the whole program and save the money.
Your tax dollars at work…</p>
<p>I appreciate the comments of all so far. It is too bad that there is a lack of support by the office for which this award is named after (regardless who is sitting in that office). If this country is really committed to the “young people” and their education, the POTUS really needs to show up, no matter how brief, to show his (maybe her in future) support of these top achieving youngsters. Lip service from the bully-pulpit about how we need to increasingly value achievements in education to be competitive in the global marketplace just sounds like blah-blah-blah preaching when there is zero visible support for an award named after the premier bully-pulpit of the POTUS. We found it pretty amazing that in our son’s Scholar class, kids of Korean background got invited to the S. Korean embassy, met the ambassador, and got a $5000 check (too bad we’re not Koreans). We heard that kids of Chinese (PRC) also got some high acknowledgements from China’s embassy (too bad we’re not Chinese either). We were told that foreign press, from their respective motherlands, interviewed these kids and it played well in back in the land of their descendents. I’m sure a similar occurrence also happened to kids of Indian origin. It appears that other countries (e.g. from Asia) with high esteem for academic achievements far more respect this award than the USA (how ironic). Why is it that we seem to care more about the SuperBowl, American Idol, Snookie, Kardashians and many other trivial cultural phenomena, yet these kids get barely register a blip on radar. Unfortunately, I no longer have any expectations of the educational system (or public policy) to encourage or promote educational achievement. It’s totally up to the parental units, other family members, and close friends.</p>
<p>from Wiki:</p>
<p>To commemorate their achievements, the Scholars are individually awarded the Presidential Medallion by the President of the United States in a ceremony at the White House. The Presidential Medallion is a hand-crafted, 1/4 inch 85/15 Bronze, 2.5 inch round medal. It is personally engraved with individual names; hand polished, and 24-carat gold plated.</p>
<p>It sounds like a lovely medal.</p>
<p>Very nice. Picture of the White House, signature of the President (says “presented by” over that, but that’s metaphorical). Nice presentation box. You could, just hypothetically, have it on your bookshelf 31.5 years later.</p>
<p>Pghmom, it was stinking hot.</p>
<p>I remember we also went to a Roberta Flack concert at Wolf Trap.
It was just a fun experience and made me feel special. No one in my school had been nominated before, which is weird, because there were people with higher SAT scores than mine in years past. I wonder if they changed the selection criteria. I don’t remember having to write more than one essay, either.</p>
<p>In 2010, it appears that the President did meet with the Presidential Scholars, because there is a picture of him with them. In 2009, he didn’t–it was the Vice-President, instead. In any case, that part is going to be just a photo-op.</p>
<p>As I said upthread, my son found this to be worthwhile, even though the essays were a lot of work, he didn’t meet the president, and there was no money involved. The medal is pretty nice, though. He wears it at all times (kidding).</p>
<p>Is there only one essay this year?</p>
<p>Nope, my son just received the letter. After a quick glance through the materials online, it looks like one long essay and four short ones.</p>
<p>My son qualified with a 36.0 ACT, but didn’t show up on the initial list because he was graduating high school a year early. A phone call and a form, with the HS counselor’s signature I believe, set the record straight and he appeared on the updated list.</p>
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<p>When we looked at the updated list, we found that there were 141 candidates from our state, Illinois. Given my son’s limited amount of free time, the essays, the 1-in-70-odds of winning, and the lack of money, he decided to put his efforts elsewhere. Instead he used his time to win a $2500 math scholarship. </p>
<p>I would guess that many of those who make the effort have a strong interest in politics. Or they receive special recognition/scholarships within their communities or ethnic groups, like the Korean-Americans mentioned above.</p>
<p>Hi. I’m not a parent, but was nominated this year and would like some input if possible about the program. For those of you that know personally someone that was a PS and went to Washington, D.C. for that weekend, would you mind describing your experience? Also was the educator you brought along the same person as the educator that wrote the Secondary School Report? And lastly, what expenses exactly does the program cover for the D.C. trip? Is it just the PS or the family member and teacher as well? I know it’s still very early in the process, but I would like to know. Thanks for the help!</p>