Too late to be impactful

I was a Presidential Scholar in the 90s, coming from a midwestern state. It was a nice achievement, especially the National Recognition week, which involved a week-long trip to DC. The trip was very memorable -- we stayed in dorms at Georgetown, visited the Supreme Court, met some congresspeople at a reception, had a lunch at the Dept of Education, watched the Presidential Scholars in the performing arts perform at the Kennedy Center, got to see an exhibition from the writing/visual arts Scholars at one of the DC galleries, and received medals at a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. We also each got to recognize our most influential teacher, who also was able to attend the week in DC. I enjoyed meeting the other scholars and spending that time with them.

The in-person recognition week went away during Covid and I don't think it's come back. Not sure how meaningful the virtual recognition program that I think replaced it is.

Aside from that, it didn't do anything for me with college or the future. I have my medal in a drawer somewhere.

Anonymous wrote:If you can get into Who's Who in AmericannHigh School Students, don't worry about Presidential Scholars

that's a marketing scam, this is a very legit prestigious honor

Anonymous wrote:Completely pointless and embarrassing bordering on shameful to associt with anything "Presidential" while the traitor in chief is occupying the seat.

I don't like Trump either, but let's keep politics out of this. The program was started in the 60s, so it's not a Trump thing.

Anonymous wrote:Just Chat Gpt the essays and tweak them a bit.

They don't have to be works of art.

I'm not going to encourage my kid to cheat. Also, they pick 2 from every state, so I'm sure they can spot and toss the AI essays.

If you can get into Who's Who in AmericannHigh School Students, don't worry about Presidential Scholars

Anonymous wrote:Is this something that stays on a resume?

hahaha no one cares

Completely pointless and embarrassing bordering on shameful to associt with anything "Presidential" while the traitor in chief is occupying the seat.

Just Chat Gpt the essays and tweak them a bit.

They don't have to be works of art.

Is this something that stays on a resume?

No, tons of work, no real benefit aside from recognition that comes too late for college admission consideration.

My kid is also a candidate, and he is not applying. Like your kid, mine is into his top choice an has no need for another award.

Anonymous wrote:^ classic example to file in that helicopter parent thread. Let your kid decide!

I guess you don't have anything real to offer, please go find something more productive than trolling

^ classic example to file in that helicopter parent thread. Let your kid decide!

My kid got a letter telling him he's a candidate and inviting him to apply. We had never heard of of this program before. The app will require hours of work and it's due quite soon. Multiple essays -- most of which do not overlap with college essays.

My kid is already committed to his first choice college, so there is no need for another award for college apps. So, is there any reason to apply? Would he put it on his resume? Would it help him get internships? help him get jobs after college? help him get into grad school? how many people even know what it is?

Also looked it up and it's not even the last round, there's a semi final first. Does that mean there's another application from semi to the end?

And how hard is it to get all the way to the end? What is the profile of a Scholar? My kid is a normal run-of-the-mill impressive kid who doesn't have national awards or research or anything like that. His grades are good but he doesn't even have straight As.

So, is it worth it?