<p>Yes, it’s basically an honor as I think only 2 students from each state are chosen. D1 was a candidate but didn’t apply to go as she wasn’t interested in meeting the president at that time ;).</p>
<p>If you choose not to apply, you can still write down that you were nominated. It’s pretty much overlap with your perfect/near perfect test score, but there are occasions where you don’t list your scores but are asked for honors.</p>