Six members of Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy’s Class of 2026 have been named candidates in the 2026 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, one of the nation’s highest academic honors for graduating high school seniors.
Conor Cavens, Chloe Jung, Jeannik Littlefield, Henry Maling, Tiffany Ravaglia, and Nehali Singh were selected based on outstanding SAT or ACT scores, placing them among the top performers in Hawaiʻi and across the country.
The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964 by executive order of President Lyndon B. Johnson to recognize exceptional academic achievement among the nation’s graduating seniors. Each year, candidates are identified from a pool of nearly 3.6 million students nationwide. Only the highest scorers in each state earn candidate status, making the designation one of the most selective in American secondary education.
HPA’s six candidates are the most of any school on the Big Island and the third-highest total among private schools statewide, behind only ʻIolani and Punahou. The group also represents 35 percent of all Big Island Presidential Scholar candidates this year — a notable share for a single school.
The selection process narrows considerably from here. From approximately 5,000 candidates nationwide, about 500 will advance to semifinalist status this spring based on a review of essays, self-assessments, transcripts, and school recommendations. The final 161 Presidential Scholars — one male and one female from each state, plus students in the arts and career and technical education — will be named by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars later this year.