Congratulations to Coleman Howard, who is one of approximately 550 semifinalists in the 2006 Presidential Scholars Program. The semifinalists were selected from more than 2700 candidates on the basis of superior achievements, leadership qualities, personal character, and involvement in community and school activities. Final selection of the Scholars will be made by the Commission on Presidential Scholars, a group of eminent citizens appointed by the President, and will be announced in May. The Commission will select one young man and one young woman from each state, the district of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S. students living abroad; up to 20 students representing the visual, literary and performing arts; and 15 students at-large.
Semifinalists were chosen by a panel of distinguished educators after a review of students' essays, self-assessments, descriptions of activities, school recommendations, and school transcripts. The 500 semifinalists in the program's academic component were initially selected as candidates for their exceptional performance on either the College Board SAT or the ACT Assessment. For the arts component of the program, 48 additional semifinalists were nominated by the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts, which annually conducts a competitive, national talent search of over 6500 young artists in a wide range of disciplines.
Scholars will be invited to Washington, D.C., for several days in the second half of June to receive the Presidential Scholars medallion at a recognition ceremony and to participate in various activities and events held in their honor.
Presidential Scholars Program
The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of the President, to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. In 1979, the program was extended to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, creative and performing arts. Each year, up to 141 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students.
For the academic component of the program, students who meet the following criteria:
are U.S. citizens; graduate or receive a diploma between January and August of 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, 2003 and runs through October, 2005, (for the recognition cycle concluding in June, 2006).