U.S. Presidential Scholars Program

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964 to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. Each year, up to 161 students are named as Presidential Scholars, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students.

Students are nominated through their Chief State School Officer (CSSO). It is the role of the Iowa Department of Education to collect these nominations and submit them to the U.S. Department of Education for review.

Two Iowa students named as 2025 U.S. Presidential Scholars

Nominate

The Iowa Department of Education is now accepting nominations for the 2026 U.S. Presidential Scholars program, one of the highest honors a student can achieve. Nominations will be accepted through Jan. 27. 2026.

General Component Nomination Form
 

Arts Component Nomination Form
 

CTE Component Nomination Form
 

Eligibility

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 2026, 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 year window that begins in August, 2022 and runs through October, 2025, (for the recognition cycle concluding in June, 2026), 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 2026, the current program year;
• demonstrate academic achievement and talent in the visual, creative and performing arts; and
• are nominated by their state's Chief State School Officer.

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 2026, the current program year;
• demonstrate academic achievement in career and technical programs; and
• are nominated by their state's Chief State School Officer.

Application for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program is by invitation only. Students may not apply individually to the program or be nominated (outside of the above process).