How do I apply to be a U.S. Presidential Scholar?

Application is by invitation only. We invite students to apply based on their scores on the SAT or ACT exam or their nomination by a Chief State School Officer (CSSO—The CSSO is the individual who heads each state education agency or state Department of Education.) or nomination from one of our partner recognition organizations, during the year of their graduation from high school; to be eligible for the program, candidates must be U.S. citizens or legal permanent U.S. residents. Students who meet all qualifications will automatically be sent program notification and a unique nomination ID in January of 2022. Students who were not U.S. citizens or legal permanent U.S. residents on the day they took SAT or ACT exam but will be U.S. citizens or legal permanent U.S. residents by the application deadline date, or who requested that The College Board or ACT not release their scores to outside entities, should contact the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program at 507-931-8345 (once the candidate list has been posted) to ensure their scores are considered in the determination of the candidate pool.

How do I apply to be a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts?

YoungArts™, the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists, nominates up to 60 candidates for consideration as U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts following participation in YoungArts™ week. If you are interested in applying to the YoungArts™ program, contact YoungArts™ directly at 1-800-970-ARTS, INFO@youngarts.org or www.youngarts.org. The registration deadline for the 2021-2022 program year is October 15, 2021.

How do I apply to be a U.S. Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education?

Students are nominated through their Chief State School Officer (CSSO). Each CSSO may nominate up to five candidates from their jurisdiction. The CSSO is the individual who heads each state education agency or state Department of Education.

Is this a Scholarship Program?

No, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program is a recognition program. Students chosen as U.S. Presidential Scholars receive a Presidential medallion, in commemoration of their achievements during National Recognition Program.

I'm not a U.S. Citizen or Legal Permanent U.S. Resident.

If you will not have either U.S. citizenship or legal permanent U.S. residency by the application receipt deadline, you are not eligible for the program. If you were not a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent U.S. resident on the day you took the SAT or ACT exam, but you will be by the application deadline date, you must notify the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program of your change in status if you wish to be considered in the determination of the candidate pool.

I'm not graduating from high school this year.

If you will not receive a high school diploma between January 2022 and August 2022, you will not be eligible to participate in the 2022 program year.

I am a Candidate and I attend boarding school. Or, I am a Candidate and my mailing address and state of legal residence differ.

Please contact us so that we can verify that you have been identified as a Candidate from the correct state (your state of legal residence).

I am a Candidate and I live outside of the U.S. and its territories.

You will more than likely be identified as an "American Abroad." Please contact us to ensure that you are classified correctly. All candidates in this category must be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident and have a parent who is also a U.S. citizen.

I believe I am eligible to apply for the general component, but I am not listed as a Candidate.

This is possible, since we rely on the data provided by students themselves at the time they took the SAT and ACT exams to identify the universe of eligible candidates. The College Board and ACT, Inc. transmit this information to us. Our process does not include obtaining updates for all high school students whose citizenship, legal U.S. residency, or graduation status may have changed between their taking the ACT or SAT test and our application deadline. Each year, still other students may be omitted from the list of eligible applicants because they entered information incorrectly on the test forms, or because they requested that ACT or The College Board not release their scores to outside entities, in addition to those who attained U.S. citizenship, legal U.S. residency, or altered their graduation date after they registered for the test. If you are a U.S. citizen or legal permanent U.S. resident graduating in 2022, the current program year, and received what you believe to be a qualifying test score for your state in one sitting, please call us at 507-931-8345, and be prepared to provide us with information on your state of legal residence, full name, gender, the date you took the test, and a copy of your test report. If you have attained citizenship or legal U.S. residency since you registered for the ACT or SAT, you will also need to provide proof of your citizenship or legal U.S. residency status. We will verify the information and documentation you provide to us and determine whether you are eligible to apply. If we determine that you are eligible, we will provide you with access to the application, which you may complete and submit online, or download, complete and mail in hard copy. All applications must be received by us at the Saint Peter, MN address by 5:00 p.m. Central Time, February 24, 2022. If the application receipt deadline has passed by the time you contact us, you will not be able to apply, even if you would otherwise have been eligible.

Is the writing component of either the ACT or SAT assessment considered when determining eligibility for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program?

No. Since the writing component is not a required part of both assessments, we do not use that score to determine eligibility for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Eligible candidates are determined using the Evidence-based Reading & Writing and Math scores for the SAT and the English, Math, and Reading scores for the ACT.

Some states now offer statewide, weekday, in-school administration of the ACT. Will my scores from a statewide test administration be considered?

Yes, scores from statewide test dates will be considered in the same way as scores from national test dates, provided the test date falls between September 2018 and October 2021.

When will letters of invitation be mailed for the 2022 Program?

We will mail letters of invitation to all students who meet the qualifying requirements during the week of January 20, 2022. We will also email invitations to students for whom we have email addresses for.

When is the application deadline?

All applications, Secondary School Reports, and transcripts must be uploaded or received in our Saint Peter office by 5:00 p.m. Central Time (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT) on February 24, 2022. Any incomplete materials or materials received after the deadline will be disqualified and not considered for review. Again, we strongly recommend using a courier mail service (such as FedEx or UPS) with a guaranteed delivery date if mailing your application. Please note that the U.S. Postal Service's Priority Mail service is not guaranteed.

I wish to complete and submit the application in hard copy, rather than online.

You can download and print the forms online. At the bottom of the page, you will find links to PDFs of the application forms, along with important submission requirements and a copy of the press release form.

If I want to mail my completed application, what address do I use?

To submit your application materials, please use the following address.

Special service/courier recommended

U.S. Presidential Scholars Program
One Scholarship Way
Saint Peter, MN 56082
507-931-8345

We recommend submitting all application materials online. If mailing the application, all application materials, including school materials, must be sent to the above Saint Peter address. Do not send any portion of your application to Washington, DC. To do so risks missing the deadline for receipt of all materials in Minnesota, and the disqualification of your application.

All applications, Secondary School Reports, and transcripts must be received in our Saint Peter office by 5:00 p.m. Central Time (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT) on February 24, 2022. Any incomplete materials or materials received after the deadline will be disqualified and not considered for review. We strongly recommend using a courier mail service (such as FedEx or UPS) with a guaranteed delivery date if mailing your application. Please note that the U.S. Postal Service's Priority Mail is not a guaranteed service.

Will I be disqualified if there are attachments to my application?

Yes, your application will be rendered ineligible if you attach additional materials to your application, alter the application, or fail to follow the instructions in any way. While this measure may seem harsh, it is imperative to the fairness and impartiality of our review that all applicants submit the same type and amount of information in the same format. We must be able to ensure that the reviewers' selections are based on the applications' content and quality alone, rather than on any additional information, images, resumes, articles, letters of recommendation, or other materials provided by some candidates and not others. Please read all instructions carefully and follow them exactly to avoid our having to disqualify your application for technical reasons. If you have any questions, please contact us.

If your school attaches additional materials to the Secondary School Report or to the transcript, these extraneous materials will not disqualify your application. However, we will remove all extraneous information, including letters of recommendation; they will not be included with your file for review.

Does my school have to send a school profile?

No. We recommend that your secondary school include a secondary school profile, if possible, but you will not be adversely affected by the absence of a school profile.

Who should complete the Secondary School Report?

The Secondary School Report must be completed by a school official at the student's current school. If the student has attended the school for less than two years, a second Secondary School Report may be submitted in addition by the student's previous school. Students are strongly encouraged to select a school official who knows them well to complete this part of the application. This may be a teacher or counselor. If you want to submit a second Secondary School Report call our application help desk at 507-931-8345.

Do school officials have to complete the Secondary School Report or can they substitute other items, such as letters of recommendation?

School officials must complete the Secondary School Report. We do not accept substitutions for this form.

Does the teacher I choose as my most influential teacher have to be the person who fills out the Secondary School Report?

No.

I am home schooled. Who should complete my Secondary School Report? Do I also need to submit a transcript?

Either an authorized official from the local education agency that certifies your schooling, or one of your parents/guardians who acts as your school official, must complete the Secondary School Report (SSR) form. If a parent/guardian completes the form, they must complete it as a school official and not a parent/guardian. A parent or guardian completing the SSR should call our application help desk 507-931-8345 for instructions. And yes, you must also submit a transcript indicating what you have studied and your grades or equivalent measurements.

I'm done with my application but my school hasn't submitted or returned the Secondary School Report and transcript to me.

Your school may upload or mail its part of the application separately. However, if your application is not complete, including the Secondary School Report and transcript, by the RECEIPT deadline, you will be disqualified. It is your responsibility to make sure that your school uploads or sends its documents to us on time. We will strictly enforce the deadline, regardless of who sends the materials. As noted above, all applications, Secondary School Reports, and transcripts must be uploaded or received in our Saint Peter office by 5:00 p.m. Central Time (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT) on February 24, 2022. Any incomplete materials or materials uploaded or received after the deadline will be disqualified and will not be considered for review. We strongly advise that you use a courier mail service (such as FedEx or UPS) with a guaranteed delivery date if mailing any portion of your application; note that U.S. Postal Service's Priority Mail service is not guaranteed.

I am a school official with multiple candidates. Can I send all of the applications in one package if I am mailing the Secondary School Report (SSR)?

Yes, but please be sure to put each individual's application materials in separate envelopes within the package.

Do I have to stay inside the lines on the application?

Yes. You must adhere to the space and font requirements specified in the application instructions.

Can I cut and paste my printed answers into the application?

Yes.

How and where should I send in my application?

We strongly recommend that you either upload all of your application materials or use a courier mail service (such as FedEx or UPS) with a guaranteed delivery date if you are mailing your application. We will strictly enforce the receipt deadline of 5:00 p.m. Central Time (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT) on February 24, 2022 so we strongly recommend that you use one of these services. Also, please note that if you use U.S. Postal Service overnight mail and utilize the Internet tracking system, the delivery date noted in the system may not reflect the date the package was received in the Saint Peter, MN, office, but only the date it arrived at the Saint Peter, MN, postal facility. Note also that unlike FedEx or UPS delivery, the U.S. Postal Service's Priority Mail service is not guaranteed.

All mailed applications, including all your application materials, such as, your Secondary School Report, transcript, and school profile, should be sent to our Saint Peter address.

Special service/courier recommended

U.S. Presidential Scholars Program
One Scholarship Way
Saint Peter, MN 56082
507-931-8345

Do not send any portion of your application to Washington, DC.

An emergency may prevent my complete application from arriving by the deadline.

We do not grant extensions except, at our discretion, on a case-by-case basis in cases of grave personal illness or natural disaster. Unless we grant an extension, all of your application materials, including your Secondary School Report, transcript, and school profile, must be uploaded or received at our Saint Peter address by the receipt deadline, 5:00 p.m. Central Time (6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT), February 24, 2022.

Will everyone get a letter, or only those chosen as Semifinalists/Scholars?

Everyone we invite to apply, and who then submits an application for consideration, will be mailed a letter notifying them of their status. Semifinalists and non-Semifinalists will be notified in mid-April. Scholars and non-Scholars will be notified in May.

When will the names of Candidates/Semifinalists/Scholars be posted online?

The names of the 2022 Candidates will be posted after invitations are mailed in January 2022. The names of the Semifinalists will be posted in mid-April. The names of the 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars will be posted in early May. We do not yet have exact dates for these postings.

Is National Recognition Program scheduled yet?

National Recognition Program is tentatively scheduled for June 2022. However, these dates are subject to change and will be solidified after U.S. Presidential Scholars are announced.