4 Local Students Named Presidential Scholar Candidates

LAKE FOREST, IL — Four local high school seniors are among the candidates for the 57th U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, one of the nation's top honors for high school students. They include a Lake Bluff resident who attends Lake Forest High School, a homeschooled Lake Forest resident and two students from Lake Forest Academy.

Application for the program is by invitation only. Students are not nominated by school administrators. According to the Department of Education, the vast majority of candidates qualify based on exceptionally high SAT or ACT standardized test scores.

There are a couple of other ways to qualify. Several other recognition organizations partnered with the program. They were each able to individually nominate up to 40 candidates. Additionally, each state's chief state school officer also can nominate 20 students, equally divided by gender.

More than 4,500 seniors were named candidates last week and offered a chance to apply during their final semester of high school.

A total of 153 Illinois students were among them. They include:

Justin Hwang, of Northbrook — Lake Forest Academy
Kathryn Li, of Lake Bluff — Lake Forest High School
Calvin Osborne, of Lake Bluff — Lake Forest Academy
Marlene Schaff, of Lake Forest — Schaff Family Homeschool

A panel of educations narrows down the applicants to about 600 semifinalists by early April. The Commission on Presidential Scholars, a 32-member group of presidential appointees, then selects a group of finalists.

The Department of Education traditionally announces the approximately 161 scholars in May, and, the Presidential Scholars Medallion has been awarded at recognition ceremonies in Washington D.C.

Last year's group of winners included one female student and one male student from each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. families living abroad and 20 scholars in the arts, 20 scholars in career and technical education and 15 scholars chosen at-large.