6 Ridgefield Students Selected As U.S. Presidential Scholar Candidates

RIDGEFIELD, CT — Six Ridgefield residents have been selected as candidates for the 2025 United States Presidential Scholars Program.

The candidates from Ridgefield High School are Carter S. Brown, William H. Carter, Catherine S. Thompson, Elias Warholak, and Elijah Yurkovsky. Kiran D. Rao, a student at King School in Stamford, has also been selected.

Established in 1964 by Executive Order of the President, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program recognizes and honors some of the nation’s most distinguished graduating high school seniors.

Application is by invitation only, so students may not apply individually to the program, nor may their schools nominate them, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The selection of approximately 4,000 general program candidates is mostly made based on SAT and ACT scores.

Approximately 650 candidates are named semifinalists and forwarded to the Commission on Presidential Scholars for review.

In April, the Commission reviews the applications of all semifinalists and selects up to 161 U.S Presidential Scholars each year.

All scholars are honored for their accomplishments during the online National Recognition Program. U.S. Presidential Scholars are awarded the U.S. Presidential Scholars medallion each June.

Being named a U.S. Presidential Scholar is one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students.

More information on the program can be found here.