ENGLISH: For scholarship and achievement in one or more of the following areas: creative writing, English, journalism, literature and related subjects. Two examples of work, either published or pre-pared as classroom assignments, must be submitted. The quality of thought, maturity, originality and technical skill will be considered.

MATHEMATICS: For scholarship and achievement in mathematics and related areas. Scholars may exhibit outstanding records in mathematics competitions and evidence of potential contributions to mathematical knowledge. Nominees should be prepared to calculate a mathematical equation in the judging interviews. Students should submit state and national math scores and other standardized mathematics test scores. 

SOCIAL SCIENCE: For scholarship and achievement in one or more of the following areas: American government, geography, history, economics, social issues, world affairs and/or related subjects. Scholars should have a broad background in the social sciences and demonstrate, exemplify and practice good citizenship. The nominees may have shown inventiveness in relating social studies to existing problems and in translating concepts into experiment.

SCIENCE: For scholarship and achievement in advanced work, inventiveness or outstanding service in one or more of the following areas: biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, health science, science and related subjects. Imagination, originality or special contributions will receive major consideration in judging.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE: For outstanding scholarship and persistence in the study of a foreign language. Students should have made unusual contributions to the field of foreign language study or demonstrated increasing interest in such studies at their school. Rankings received in foreign language festivals should be submitted. Students should also submit a brief resume of language projects or ad-ventures in which they have participated. Nominees should be prepared to demonstrate their ability to communicate in the language of speaking, listening, reading and/or writing. American Sign Language is not a foreign language. A foreign-born student attending an English-speaking high school may not use English or their native tongue as a A foreign language.

COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY: For outstanding scholarship and achievement in one or more of the following areas: Computer programming, interfacing, networking, repair, construction, design and illustration, media and multimedia, or other related fields. The nominee may have won awards or recognitions, implemented their skills on behalf of their school and community or demonstrated innovative progress in their field.

SKILLED AND TECHNICAL SCIENCES EDUCATION: For outstanding scholarship and achievement in one or more of the following areas: automotive sciences, automotive collision repair, cabinet-making/millwork, carpentry, cosmetology/barbering, drafting/CAD, graphics/printing technology, law enforcement, machinist technician/CNC, welding, and other related fields. The nominee may have won awards in competitions, devised equipment or materials for school use or shown unusual progress in this study.

AGRICULTURE SCIENCE: For outstanding scholarship and achievement in agriculture science. The nominee may have won awards in competitions, devised equipment or materials for school use or shown unusual progress in this study.

FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES: For outstanding scholarship and achievement in one or more of the following areas: child development and care, interior design, family living, food and nutrition, culinary arts, clothing and fashion, and other life skills. Nominees are not expected to have experience in all listed fields, but expertise in at least one discipline. Nominees may have won awards in youth organizations, other competitions or may have used skills to render conspicuous service to their school, church or other organizations.

BUSINESS AND MARKETING: For scholarship and achievement in one or more of the following areas: business management, accounting, data processing, word processing and other fields related to business occupations. Nominees may have won awards in competitions. Nominees are also encouraged to provide evidence of successful outside activities that support business career development and interests.

SPEECH/DRAMA: For scholarship and achievement in either debate, drama, theater, public speaking or other forensic events. Nominees are not expected to have experience in all listed fields, just expertise in at least one discipline. Nominees should include in their portfolios two examples of their work or descriptions of their activities related to this category. They should also be prepared to give a brief demonstration of public or oral communication, appropriate to their specialty, approximately two to four minutes in length.

VISUAL ARTS: For scholarship and achievement in creative expression in one or more of the following areas: drawing, artistic photography, commercial art, mixed media, graphic art, painting, sculpture and related fields. The nominee may have demonstrated professional potential in one or more disciplines, contributed outstanding service to the school and successfully competed in district and state art shows.

MUSIC: For demonstrating outstanding scholarship and achievement in one or more of the areas of music. Exceptional talent in composition, vocal or instrumental music will be considered, but service to school or community through this talent also will be among determining qualifications. Nominees should be prepared to demonstrate their musical talent during a period of four minutes by playing an instrument or singing. In addition, it is not practical to provide for special interview circumstances such as unusual musical instruments that are not available in most high schools. For example, if a nominee needs to play an organ for their interview demonstration and an organ is not available at the judging site, a video-tape may accompany the nominee to the interview.

DANCE: For demonstrating exceptional skill, achievement and creative expression in artistic dance. Portfolios should include training received, dances choreographed, major performances and dance service rendered to the school or community. Nominees should be prepared to demonstrate their technique and choreographic skills by performing a self-choreographed solo composition, approximately two minutes in length. Nominees will also be asked to respond to an improvisational problem during part of the interview. No performance videos are required.

GENERAL SCHOLARSHIP: This most prestigious category is intended to provide recognition for the highly capable scholar who uses exceptional ability in many areas. This MVP of scholarship must have achieved high excellence in many fields, without noticeable weaknesses. The choice of a candidate in this category is to be made on grounds of scholarship, leadership, citizenship and service in many areas.