JSHS awards

Regional Oral Presentation Awards: A total $4,500 in undergraduate, tuition scholarships to citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

• 1st place: $2000
• 2nd place: $1500
• 3rd place: $1000

The top five oral finalists at each regional symposium will win an all-expense paid trip to the National JSHS and an invitation to present their original research investigation at the National JSHS:

• Verbal presentation for the 1st and 2nd place regional finalists
• Poster presentation for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th place regional finalist

Regional Poster Presentation Awards: 

• 1st place: $150
• 2nd place: $100
• 3rd place: $50

Oral Presenters

• Eight $12,000 undergraduate tuition scholarships - awarded to each of the 1st place finalists in the National research paper competition.
• Eight $8,000 undergraduate tuition scholarships - awarded to each of the 2nd place finalists in the National research paper competition.
• Eight $4,000 undergraduate tuition scholarships - awarded to each of the 3rd place finalists in the National research paper competition.

Poster Presenters

• Eight $550 undergraduate tuition scholarships - awarded to each of the 1st place finalists in the poster presentation competition
• Eight $450 undergraduate tuition scholarships - awarded to each of the 2nd place finalists in the poster presentation competition
• Eight $350 undergraduate tuition scholarships - awarded to each of the 3rd place finalists in the poster presentation competition

• A $1,000 award to one teacher, honoring the individual teacher's and their school's contributions to advancing student participation in research.

Purpose

The Junior Science and Humanities Symposium is honored to submit nominations for the U.S. Presidential Scholar Award sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964 by the executive order of the President (Executive Order 11155) to recognize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. Each year, up to 161 students are named Presidential Scholars, one of the nation's highest honors for high school students. Program applications are by invitation only, and the students must either be graduates or receive their diploma between January and August of the program year. Awards are presented annually at the White House in June.

Recent efforts have been made to diversify the pool of applicants, which is currently based on the top SAT and ACT achievement scores. The Department of Education (ED) is partnering with JSHS and other like-minded programs in providing a more diverse school of candidates as distinguished from the traditional method of nomination selections.

Award Criteria

• Current High School Junior (11^th grade) – Graduating between December 2024 and August 2025
• A past or current JSHS participant
• A STEM-oriented student who has demonstrated significant independent effort, persistence, and accomplishment despite barriers, hurdles to success for limited access to resources.
• Persistence, problem-solving, level of effort, and leadership characteristics are given higher weight than technical proficiency in STEM competition.

Involvement and Service (in school and community)

• Accomplishments and leadership roles in extracurricular and community activities
• Social concerns and contributions to others
• Awards/other commendations

Leadership and Character

• Well-rounded
• Shows initiative
• Character and commitment to high ideals
• Out-of-school responsibilities
• Special talents, skills, interests

Academic Achievement

• GPA / Rank / Test scores – Minimum overall GPA of 3.0 or better (on a 4.0 scale)
• Advanced or special courses
• Academic awards
• Depth-range-breadth of knowledge / demanding courses

Additional discretionary factors. Applicants must meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Extraordinary achievement
• Heavy workload or extensive family responsibilities. Students have unusual responsibilities such as part-time jobs to help their parents pay bills, care for other family members or live in a single- parent household.
• Obstacles to overcome – Academic or personal obstacle
• Diversity¹ - Criteria for selecting students who fit the definition of diverse include students who self- identify with two or more of the following criteria:
  • Underrepresented² - Identity as an underrepresented racial or ethnic minority in STEM.
  • Qualify for free and reduced lunch
  • First-generation college student
  • Students learning English as a second language

¹Representative of diverse intellectual, social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds.
²Underrepresented populations include low-income students; students belonging to race and ethnic minorities that are historically underrepresented in STEM (i.e., Alaska Natives, Native Americans, Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders); students with disabilities; students with English as a second language; first-generation college students; students in rural, frontier, or other Federal targeted outreach schools; and females in specific STEM fields (e.g., physical science, computer science, mathematics, or engineering).

If selected by the JSHS Region as a U.S. Presidential Scholar, the Regional JSHS may contact the student’s teacher for the following information about the student:

• Email address
• Phone number
• Home address
• A description of leadership and character qualities
• Current cumulative GPA
• Classes taken in the following categories: Advanced placement, IB courses, courses offered for college credit, or other high-level STEM courses
• Academic awards nominated and/or won
• Comment on the students’ depth, range, and breadth of knowledge with respect to their demanding courses
• Describe the nominee’s academic achievements that make them stand out as having an outstanding scholarship.
• Describe the student's independent scholarship as demonstrated by the conduct of an independent investigation in STEM, level of effort, persistence, and contributions.
• Report on the student's outstanding scholarship as demonstrated by academic pursuits and achievements or awards.
• Describe any unique challenges or hurdles this student has overcome while still achieving high academic success