US Presidential Scholars

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program is a prestigious opportunity for our Seniors to demonstrate excellence from three categories: academic, fine arts, and CTAE. The student starts at the school level, then has the chance to go to the district, state, and national level. At the national level, the US Presidential Scholars (up to 161 students from across the nation) have a paid trip to Washington D.C. to receive a medal and be honored as recipients. 

For the general component of the program, students who meet the following criteria:

• are or will be U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent U.S. Residents by the application deadline (Students who were not U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent U.S. Residents on the day they took SAT or ACT exam, 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 to ensure their scores are considered in the determination of the candidate pool.);
• graduate or receive a diploma between January and August of 2020, the current program year; and
• score exceptionally well on either the SAT of the College Board or the ACT of the American College Testing Program, based on tests taken during the two-year window that begins in September, 2017 and runs through October, 2019, (for the recognition cycle concluding in June, 2020), nominated by their Chief State School Officer (CSSO) or nominated by one of our partner recognition organizations based on outstanding scholarship.

For the arts component of the program, students who meet the following criteria:

• are or will be U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent U.S. Residents by the application deadline;
• graduate or receive a diploma between January and August of 2020, the current program year;
• demonstrate academic achievement and talent in the visual, creative and performing arts; and
• participate in the National YoungArts Foundation's nationwide YoungArts program.

For the CTE component of the program, students who meet the following criteria:

• are or will be U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent U.S. Residents by the application deadline;
• graduate or receive a diploma between January and August of 2020, the current program year;
• demonstrate academic achievement in career and technical programs; and
• are nominated by their state's Chief State School Officer.

Please select the application (below) in the area of interest.  The completed application is due to the counseling office by Friday, September 20th.  Once decisions are regarding the selected student(s) that will move to the district level, students will be notified by Friday, October 4th.  Selected students will be required to complete the entire application and submit parental signatures on the official application.

ACADEMIC- US Presidential Scholar Application

ARTS- US Presidential Scholar Application

CTE- US Presidential Scholar Application