It’s a great honor, but it seems no impact on college decision, am I right? S is from a highly `competitive school which has 31 names in the list.
Ski_racer, your counselor is mistaken about the odds. The 161 Presidential Scholars aren’t randomly selected from the candidate pool. https://www2.ed.gov/programs/psp/select.html
It’s a great honor to be selected, but the reason for completing the essays is that if you are fortunate enough to be named a U.S. Presidential Scholar, you’ll be welcomed into a uniquely diverse and talented peer group.
Called and message said results will be out this week.
Results are out! https://www2.ed.gov/programs/psp/index.html
Was not selected as a semi-finalist. Honestly, I am a little disappointed but not surprised. Good luck to anyone who was selected! 
@ilikewiki Was your son selected? In our area, the selected ones came from schools that had only one or two candidates. Bigger pools seemed to have no impact. Waiting to see how they select the finalists, whether or not they emphasize on academics and extracurriculars.
My daughter is a 2019 semi-finalist in PA! Very excited for her!
Congratulations @kcat90 !
Hi – does anyone know whether being selected as a Presidential Scholar will increase your chances of getting off a waitlist? (specifically, Harvard and Princeton)
Probably unlikely, unless it’s coupled with other significant awards
The final list has been announced: