US Presidential Scholars Program

thank you so much! that’s probably what I’ll do too @ski_racer

Is anyone else really struggling with this last minute? I only applied to two colleges bc I got in ED to my dream program, so I don’t really have a lot of material to recycle :// this is a struggle

If anyone knows a Presidential Scholar who would be willing to share their successful application so I can get an idea of the style they’re looking for please pm me

@gwbush Which college did you get in, if you don’t mind sharing?

My son decided it was too much work

I wonder how many people actually fill out the application after being nominated. How did everyone’s application go here?

@jswani I felt like mine was pretty good. I enjoy photography so I had lots of pictures to choose from. In the end, I chose a picture of the Tetons at sunrise and wrote about public lands and how I want to be a park ranger. One of my short essays was about the intersection of spirituality and nature, so I think it all tied together nicely.

@ski_racer Glad they went well! I feel the same way about them tying together. I honestly enjoyed having several essays rather than just one—I felt I was able to develop a much more complete picture of myself. Good luck, hope you get it!

My daughter went ahead and completed the application. It wasn’t too bad since she had about 15 supplemental essays to draw from. She was able to use some of them (and read-work them to fit.) She is a 3 season varsity athlete so her time is limited but she gave it a go anyway. She’s definitely happy to be done writing essays!

@ivyforest I got into the huntsman program at upenn

Hey guys, congrats to all the 2017-2018 U.S. Presidential Scholar semi-finalists. I know applications are now submitted, so now its just a big waiting game. I was a 2017 Presidential Scholar and I know the emotional whirlwind the process can be. If anyone has any questions about the event or the like don’t hesitate to ask.

Hi @SJ0823! I am a US Presidential Scholar candidate from NM and have submitted my application. I was looking at the psp website, and it says that 500 semifinalists will be notified in mid-April, and then the ~160 finalists will be announced in early May. Is there anything semifinalists have to do (additional essays, letters of rec, etc) to become finalists?

@celara55 Nope! After the big application process that you just completed, there is nothing left to do besides wait. The hard part is over, now you just get to enjoy senior year!

@SJ0823 How are semi-finalists and finalists usually announced? Do they send an email or do you just have to scan the list for your name?

@jswani The first notification you will receive is by email. I received my invitation to the national recognition program on May 5, 2017. At that time, your school will also be notified via email. A few days later you should the official list will be released and then you will get an official letter in the mail.

@SJ0823 Thanks for being willing to answer some questions! I had one question regarding semifinalist notification. On the website, it says that semifinalists are chosen in late March. However, on the FAQs section of the website, it says that semifinalists will be notified in mid-April. I recall that last year, the list of semifinalists was posted April 18th, but I was wondering if you were notified via e-mail earlier, given that semifinalists are supposedly chosen several weeks in advance of the actual release date.

@cmkornbluth to be honest, I do not remember this portion of the process. I believe the only notification I received about being a semifinalist was from the list that was released online and then a letter from the state around the same time.

Any ideas when they’ll release semifinalists?

I called last week and the recording said the list will be posted on their website on Wednesday the 18th

Has anyone here heard? I have a feeling schools were notified a couple of weeks ago (have seen tweets etc) so if we haven’t heard by now, I’m thinking it’s a no.