Twenty-seven Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) seniors have been selected as candidates for the 2003-04 Presidential Scholars awards, one of the highest honors given to high school seniors in the United States.

The local students were selected from high school seniors nationwide for their exceptionally high scores on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or the American College Testing (ACT) assessment. Nationwide, about 2,600 candidates were chosen, 53 of them from Maryland. In addition, up to 50 students nationwide are selected each year as Presidential Scholars candidates for the arts component of the program.

The MCPS candidates selected as Presidential Scholars candidates for the academic component of the program are:

· Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School: Alexander Ruda, Jacob J. Spinner
· Montgomery Blair High School: Easha Anand, Maria E. Choi, Katherine A. Epstein, Joanna J. Esch, Jayalakshmi K. Kannan, Jennie S. Lee, Jessica K. Shang, John Shen, Emily Tsui, Kenneth Yan
· Winston Churchill High School: Sandra S. Katz Ben B. Kenigsberg, Mengzi Z. Yin
· Richard Montgomery High School: Kamara A. Boers, Bryan R. Cockrell
· Quince Orchard High School: Chiki Gupta
· Sherwood High School: Megan D. McGinty
· Springbrook High School: Allison L. Pitt
· Walt Whitman High School: Hilary J. Robinson, Frank L. Washburn
· Thomas S. Wootton High School: Iris Hartley, Tracy Kao

In addition, two students who attend the Visual Art Center at Albert Einstein High School were selected as Presidential Scholars candidates in the arts:

· Albert Einstein High School: Max E. Chavez
· John F. Kennedy High School: Kevin J. Lee

An independent national committee of educators will select 500 semifinalists on the basis of their academic achievements, personal characteristics, leadership and service activities, and an analysis of their essays.

In April, the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars will select up to 121 academic scholars and up to 20 arts scholars.

Scholars will be invited to Washington, D.C., in June for National Recognition Week, when they will receive the Presidential Scholars medallion at a White House ceremony and participate in activities with their elected representatives, educators, and others in public life.