Senior Ryan Reddy has been nominated as one of the elite students for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program for his performance on the SAT. With only 4,000 students being chosen for the program every year, this is considered one of the highest honors a high school student can achieve.

“I was surprised but didn’t know anything about it,” Ryan Reddy (12) said. “It’s an award granted to people who score very high on SAT or arts or tech.”

The program, established in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, recognizes the best-performing seniors throughout the U.S. In 1979, the program extended this recognition from only academic-related performance to include visual, creative and performing arts. Later in 2015, it was again expanded for students in technical fields.

“I scored a perfect English and 790 math in the SAT,” Reddy said. “It’s very validating because it was the highest in the district.”

Out of the first stage, only 650 move onto the second stage, which takes place during April. Students submit examples of their previous work, such as essays, reports, and achievements and are judged to move onto the second stage, where only 161 students finalize.

“You have to do a whole application for it and it seems difficult to get into,” Reddy said. “I chose not to forward the application for the second stage because I was ineligible for it.”

While there’s no money prize, students who make it to the final stage have the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. where they receive a medallion at a ceremony sponsored by the White House. The school has previously had two students nominated in 2024, Bryan Stevens and Jay Young, although neither made it to the final selection. The results are announced in June.