United States Presidential Scholars Program

The United States (U.S.) Presidential Scholars Program honors graduating seniors for their outstanding scholarship, achievement and promise of future success. Seniors chosen as U.S. Presidential Scholars are selected by the Commission on Presidential Scholars and will receive a Presidential medallion and commendation during the online National Recognition Program.  

The Texas Education Agency invites high school seniors graduating between January and August of 2024 to apply for the opportunity to be a U.S. Presidential Scholar. For the general component, the Texas Commissioner of Education will nominate 10 male and 10 female candidates to apply for the honor. The 20 nominees will then be invited to submit a full application to the U.S. Presidential Scholar Commission.

In addition to the U.S. Presidential Scholar general component, students with demonstrated excellence in career and technical education (CTE) may apply for the U.S. Presidential Scholar CTE component. High school seniors who are participants in a CTE program graduating between January and August of 2025 are eligible to apply. The chosen students will represent one of the following sectors viewed as the pillars of our nation's economic growth:  Health Science, Information Technology, Advanced Manufacturing, Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics. The Texas Commissioner of Education will nominate five CTE students to apply for the honor. The five nominees will then be invited to submit a full application to the U.S. Presidential Scholar Commission.

For more information, please visit the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program and the Commission on Presidential Scholars website.

Eligibility

High school seniors are eligible to apply. Seniors must meet the following criteria:

• Graduate between January and August of 2025
• Are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents 
• Attend public, parochial, or charter schools, or are home-schooled

CTE applicants must participate in a Program of Study in one of the following Career Clusters: Health Science; Information Technology (IT); Manufacturing; Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM); or Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics.

How to Apply

Please contact your high school principal to determine if you will be the sole choice to represent your school as the candidate for the USPSP General category or to represent your school as the candidate for the USPSP CTE category. The principal's signature is a requirement on the application, so communicating with your school officials should be your first step. 

2025 USPSP General Application (PDF) (available late August 2024)
2025 USPSP CTE Application (PDF) (available late August 2024)

Download Free Adobe Reader

• Students may only apply for one competition (General or CTE). If an application is received for both programs, the applicant will be considered ineligible.
• Each school may nominate only one student for the general competition and one student for the CTE competition. Principals must sign the application form in acknowledgement of their nomination.
• Applications must be submitted with valid signature of the nominating principal. A valid signature is either hand-written or an electronic signature, not typed.

Submission Instructions: Submission instructions are located on the last page of the application.

Applications are due by 5:00 pm Central on Friday, October 11, 2024.  All submitted applications must be complete. A complete submitted application includes:

• U.S. Presidential Scholars Application form
• Certifying official (Principal) signature
• Typed response
• Unweighted transcript

Incomplete application packages will be considered ineligible for review.

Selection Process

General Applications: Texas Commissioner of Education will select 10 female and 10 male general student nominations. The U.S. Presidential Scholar Commission will review these applications and invite a select number of students to complete the full application.

The review committee will consider the following when reviewing general applications:

• Involvement and service (in school and community)
• Leadership and character
• Writing samples
• Academic achievements

CTE Applications: Texas Commissioner of Education will select five CTE student nominations. The U.S. Presidential Scholar Commission will review these applications and invite a select number of students to complete the full application.

The review committee will consider the following when reviewing CTE applications:

• Academic rigor
• Technical competence
• Employability skills
• Ingenuity, creativity, and problem solving

Please note that TEA will not notify students of the status of their application. If a student is selected to apply for the honor, the student will be contacted directly by the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program office in mid-January 2024. All scholars will be announced at the beginning of May 2024.

Content Updated 3/14/2024