@Skates76 we just saw the same forecast - ugh. D’s horse show for tomorrow cancelled. No one can get out and if you do shovel, the winds just cover it all up again :((
@2manybooks are you sure about the San Francisco number? You mean CA right? I counted 6.
I work for my local school district and can confirm that the nominees are in fact kids who scored 800 on both sections, Math and Reading in ONE SEATING. Writing is not taking into consideration. The kids with an asterisk next to their names are nominated for the arts. That has nothing to do with test scores. Fun fact: At least in my district all the kids nominated got their scores on the June 6, 2015 botched SAT 
I’m sure that on the day of the test they were no happy, but you never know
Presidential Scholar nominee
You need 1600 on SAT reading and Math (no writing) and similar requirement on ACT but ACT writing score is also ignored. People who get 36 on ACT seem to be usually picked but if you are 36 without all scores being 36, I think you can miss out.
The threshold is perfection in states like California, Texas, many east coast states. Some states will have qualifiers who may not meet this.
In the end, they select one male and one female for each state, and about 20-25 artistic kids on top of that.
My daughter’s score was from the October 2014 test. Pretty interesting that so many from that district were from the June exam. We are a small population state, and I see a lot of overlap with the NMSF list here.
Thanks for the explanation, @texaspg - and wow! That’s a huge honor! I am also really happy to hear about kids nominated for the arts, too.
@LKnomad - I’m not sure how I missed them the first time around - thanks for pointing them out! When I went back and looked more closely, there they were. I know someone who taught one of the SF kids - how exciting! I have a family member who teaches at one of the San Jose HS’ that has several students on the list, too.
It sounds like a really great program, and all my best to the kids of the parents here. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.
@GoodGrief16 I thought it was kind of interesting. I can only imagine how unhappy they were on the day of the test, reasonably so. That goes to show you that you never know the twists and turns that life has. Sometimes a situation that at the beginning looks bad turns out great!
Congrats on the honors!
As someone who comes from a district with a higher reduced/free lunch population, I think using standardized testing for this honor is highly problematic. But this is an ongoing theme in education, anyway.
@LKnomad A lot of people share the same sentiment about National Merit and the PSAT. It’s kind of unfortunate.
@kittymom1102 yes I agree with those folks. The scores are correlated with affluence. But this is one of many many many issues with our system.
Regarding presidential scholars, in our tiny state, they just take the top 20 male and top 20 female scorers, and, since we are so small, that includes plenty of folks that didn’t get a 1600. My daughter was a nominee with a 1500 M+CR score.
@LKnomad - S refused to take any test more than once, or to do any test prep. The schools he went to from K-8 were all also high on the free/reduced lunch percentages (Catholic schools, but most kids were there with partial to full financial aid), and had really limited resources. His decision probably cost him some $$$ at the very least, but his conscience was clear, and I’m good with that.
We briefly looked into Germany, where college is free for everyone (and mostly taught in English many places). He didn’t want to go that far away. I find myself hoping that in my lifetime we’ll see something that egalitarian here. It seems like a long shot, but It would be more fair. In Germany, they NEED students and educated workers. Not sure the US sees that urgency.
@rayrick That’s exactly right! Just as National Merit, Presidential Scholar (score-based) varies by state. People in non-competitive states don’t have such as high threshold. I do live in a big state, so 1600 (M+CR) is a must for the score-based nomination.
This morning my D was asking whether we could move to Dick Cheney’s state
Congrats to your D, @rayrick !
@kittymom1102 Well, as someone who lives in a low population and geographically isolated state, while there may be some advantages, there are some distinct disadvantages too as far as resources. Your daughter may want to stay put 
@GoodGrief16 She surely knows that there are downsides to everything
Thank you for the links! Apparently DS is on the Presidential list as well, though we did not get anything in the mail yet. Is this a program with a scholarship?
@fretfulmother - congrats!- but, no money. Finalist earn a paid trip to Washington DC for an event.
@fretfulmother Congrats! I don’t think it has a scholarship; however, I think there is a nice trip to D.C. involved. Do they meet the POTUS? That will be nice
@kittymom1102, I’m just touchy because Facebook reminded me that four years ago I was on vacation in Florida, and today I am at a small town cheer competition (which is distinctly not as good, lol)