@lightbulbz Presidential Scholars get a paid trip to Washington DC. I don’t believe there is any prize money associated with it. It’s also extremely competitive, in most states there are two scholars named, in high population states like California there are a few more. Nominees are announced in February or March and it requires many essays to move forward at a time when you are probably going to be sick of writing essays.
You’ve taken the test twice and had a meaningful increase between the two sittings, congrats! However, any increase from 1530 is going to be much tougher. You could stay the same or even go down. I don’t think that acceptances are going to hinge on 1530 vs. 1550+