OT: High school "presidential scholars"

[daker13]

Has anyone had a child who was a "presidential scholar," with any feedback on the experience?

The child of a friend got a letter from the Dept. of Ed saying that his kid (a senior) was a candidate to become a Presidential Scholar. The child did well on the SATs and that seems to be the basis for this. It's fairly selective, and from here the child has about a 1 in 4 chance to actually become a presidential scholar. Child would have to put in an application in about a month.

Pluses: An expense paid trip to DC where the kids attend "a series of events in their honor" where they (about 160 students) will meet various luminaries. Honestly, the info is a little vague. The events are "sponsored" by the White House, but not AT the White House, and it's unclear what exactly would be happening. Meet Betsy DeVos? A nice honor, good CV padding I guess.

Minuses: The application is intense and is supposed to take about 16 hours. (Child has just been through a nightmarish gauntlet of applications for college.) The honor comes too late to actually help her get into a college--not to be crass, but let's face it, it comes too late for her to put this on her applications. No financial award or scholarship attached. Trip details seem vague. Poked around online and there are definitely people out there who declined to put in an application (due to the effort involved) after having their kid made a candidate.

Anyone go through this and have some feedback on the experience, positive or negative? Thanks.

[ftf]

Sounds like it's not for this child.

[dddd]

Now I'm wondering if I should feel slighted for not having received such an "invitation" (well at least for my MATH score).

From the sound of it, if I were in her shoes, I would take a hard pass on this.

It sounds like it's just an attempt to recruit smart people into a life of government service? It's not like one can't decide on that choice a little later on, after exploring career options through college. She will be more mature by then, so in a better position to decide.

I also dislike the idea of people being drawn into gov employment too early, before developing a sense of values outside of the gov world.

[572cv]

This program has been around for decades. My son was invited, but didn't follow up on it. Seemed more of a distraction than a value, and he was too focused on what he was learning at that point. A better value are really good AP scores. Daughter wiped out a whole semester of college with AP results, saving herself some real cash.

[sales guy]

I oldest got one as well as a couple others over the years. She'd only done 2 of them cause they are a pain. When she mentioned it to her Counselor, they said it wasn't a big deal and wouldn't help her with the college hunt.

[bewheels]

My son also received an invite back in his day.
He passed.
It is a good thing to list on a resume but it depends on what else the kid has going on like AP courses mentioned above.

BTW it doesn’t have anything to do with government service or government employment. It is simply a way that government could recognize student achievement. It is/was a well meaning program that was put in many years ago. With all the other things students do now that require their time, the program doesn’t hold the same shine as it once did.

[Louis]

My sister did it back in the early 80's, but given that she wasn't that big on politics or government at the time, I don't know if she really thought that much of the whole thing.

These days, the title seems to me to be a bit of a contradiction.

I'd say that if your child is interested go for it - it could prove to be educational and a valuable experience.

[buddybikes]

Money making thing for someone, you can join but pay to join.
both our daughters got invites and passed

[daker13]

Money making thing for someone, you can join but pay to join.
both our daughters got invites and passed

This is not a private thing, it's from the Department of Education. It's this:

https://www2.ed.gov/programs/psp/index.html

Thanks for the input, all.

[buddybikes]

This is not a private thing, it's from the Department of Education. It's this:

https://www2.ed.gov/programs/psp/index.html

Thanks for the input, all.

Sorry - must of been one of the honor society notices saw 15 years ago.
Congrats.

[bigbill]

I have a son in his second year at the Naval Academy. To increase his chances of getting into a service academy he did the following:
1. Boy's State which is put on by the American Legion. There's a Girl's State as well. No cost to the parents or kid. Done between junior and senior year.
2. Did a Congressional scholar program through our US Rep office. No cost, only time.
3. Took the ACT and SAT numerous times. Ended up with a 35 and 1510.

All three will help any college admission. He was offered the Presidential Scholar program but it conflicted with other summer plans. It worked out ok.

[likebikes]

sounds like a scam

[rwsaunders]

It looks like it might be worth it for the trip to DC and for life beyond college applications, as the timing is late for that event. I noted 5 kids from our high school on the current nomination list and those kids have been in the local papers for a number of awards over the years...solid students. Congratulations to your friends’ kid.

[jemdet]

I feel like this time should be about enjoying the last part of high school. This isn’t going to help with college applications and I doubt that her college will care in a meaningful way. Better to spend that time with her friends.

[echappist]

Money making thing for someone, you can join but pay to join.
both our daughters got invites and passed

sounds like a scam

it's rather amusing that people with no knowledge of this program decide to chime in with factually incorrect takes, even after the OP points out this is administered by the Department of Education (read, not a scam)

Now, there are organizations such as "Who's who in America", which charge a $100 (or more) to have one's name listed in a book, but this program is far from that.

maybe perceptions of the program (of its actual merits) have changed since the years I attended high school (early 2000s), but being selected as a Prez Scholar was viewed as a tremendous achievement, especially if one qualified via the academics route, as only two finalists per state (one of each gender) were selected, regardless of size of the state.

A good friend from high school was selected, and I've also come to know a few others well (and a few more in passing). Most of them were brilliant. While I had what many may consider as superior high school achievement (1570 on the SAT and score of 5 on six AP tests), my friend was at another level, having finished Calc BC by sophomore year (two years ahead of most), while also excelling in band and other activities. The Prez Scholars from other populous states had similar levels of achievement. Iirc, while they didn't meet Pres. Bush, the First Lady hosted an event in their honor.

Purely in terms of dollars and cents, one could make an argument for the worth of this accolade, as another poster has rightly pointed out that it occurs after the application process but may be of little value after matriculation, as its relevance and importance are overshadowed by one's achievements in college. But who knows, it may make a difference for that summer internship.

[bigbill]

it's rather amusing that people with no knowledge of this program decide to chime in with factually incorrect takes, even after the OP points out this is administered by the Department of Education (read, not a scam)

Now, there are organizations such as "Who's who in America", which charge a $100 (or more) to have one's name listed in a book, but this program is far from that.

maybe perceptions of the program (of its actual merits) have changed since the years I attended high school (early 2000s), but being selected as a Prez Scholar was viewed as a tremendous achievement, especially if one qualified via the academics route, as only two finalists per state (one of each gender) were selected, regardless of size of the state.

A good friend from high school was selected, and I've also come to know a few others well (and a few more in passing). Most of them were brilliant. While I had what many may consider as superior high school achievement (1570 on the SAT and score of 5 on six AP tests), my friend was at another level, having finished Calc BC by sophomore year (two years ahead of most), while also excelling in band and other activities. The Prez Scholars from other populous states had similar levels of achievement. Iirc, while they didn't meet Pres. Bush, the First Lady hosted an event in their honor.

Purely in terms of dollars and cents, one could make an argument for the worth of this accolade, as another poster has rightly pointed out that it occurs after the application process but may be of little value after matriculation, as its relevance and importance are overshadowed by one's achievements in college. But who knows, it may make a difference for that summer internship.

When I was recruiting engineers at OSU a few years ago, the fact that one candidate was a Presidential Scholar was the tiebreaker. Interviews often come down to how the person makes decisions and cultural fit, being chosen for a program such as that is a good resume bullet.

[brendonk]

My daughter received the presidential scholar application last year. After going through all the instructions and fine print we decided to pass. She had already been accepted to her first choice school so being a scholar wouldn’t help with her application process. We felt like the time spent on her AP classes, one more shot at the ACT, and her job (which she loved) would be more beneficial in the long run. She had worked her tail off for 3 1/2 years. She held up her end of the bargain. She didn’t need the added time commitment and stress.
That being said it could be great for the right person. Future attorney, business executives, federal/state workers,etc. My daughter is into art history, architecture, music and media. Going to DC didn’t excite her since she’d been there before.

[Louis]

It's too bad that so many of the "takes" here are "how's this going to help my kid get into a better college?" (and of course college itself becomes "how this school going to help my kid get a better job?") instead of considering it a potentially valuable learning experience.

[CNY rider]

It's too bad that so many of the "takes" here are "how's this going to help my kid get into a better college?" (and of course college itself becomes "how this school going to help my kid get a better job?") instead of considering it a potentially valuable learning experience.

I hear what you’re saying.
But a 16 hour application process? Seems excessive. Especially after what many of the kids and parents have been through for college applications.
I bet they could whittle that down to a 2-3 hour application and get even more talented kids to apply, and end up with a great group.

[ftf]

I hear what you’re saying.
But a 16 hour application process? Seems excessive. Especially after what many of the kids and parents have been through for college applications.
I bet they could whittle that down to a 2-3 hour application and get even more talented kids to apply, and end up with a great group.

What are you talking about? This has nothing to do with what they said.

[daker13]

It's too bad that so many of the "takes" here are "how's this going to help my kid get into a better college?" (and of course college itself becomes "how this school going to help my kid get a better job?") instead of considering it a potentially valuable learning experience.

Louis, your point is well-taken, but I looked over all the information in the letter and on the site and there just is not a lot of detail about what they're going to be doing. I'm sure it would be a learning experience, but the materials read like this: Presidential scholars will come to DC and do stuff.

There's a political dimension to this too, of course, which I've been staying away from... but I wonder if the lack of details is significant.

[sonicCows]

When I was recruiting engineers at OSU a few years ago, the fact that one candidate was a Presidential Scholar was the tiebreaker. Interviews often come down to how the person makes decisions and cultural fit, being chosen for a program such as that is a good resume bullet.

I'm surprised someone applying for employment after college (I'm assuming not an internship) listed an achievement they won in high school. Could the competing candidate have won national science fairs/leadership awards/math competitions/or been a Presidential Scholar herself and merely chose not to mention it?

I'm sure you had great reasons for your decision, just putting out more to consider.

Department of Education (read, not a scam)

:confused:

[echappist]

it's rather amusing that people with no knowledge of this program decide to chime in with factually incorrect takes, even after the OP points out this is administered by the Department of Education (read, not a scam)


:confused:

regardless of the esteem with which you hold the current Secretary of Education, the Department of Education does not engage in activity that scam people.

some people (see the posts to which I originally responded) believed this program to be an actual scam