This year, with a new application process in place, more than 3,000 high school students applied to the Forty Acres Scholars Program, the premier full-ride, merit-based scholarship at the University of Texas at Austin. Of that number, just 59 students were selected as finalists for the prestigious scholarship. The finalists have an average SAT score of 1450 and an average ACT score of 33. In addition to their academic achievements, many of them somehow found the time to add lines like Eagle Scout, jazz musician, varsity athlete, and even the CEO and founder of a nonprofit company to their respective résumés.

The finalists for the Class of 2019 include students in nine different UT colleges—including the first two finalists in the history of the program who intend to study nursing. They hail from Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, and Maryland.

From February 26-28, the students will come to Austin for Finalists Weekend, where they will learn more about the campus, sit down for interviews, and get a glimpse of what their future life in Austin could look like. Meet the finalists:

Jeff Auster

L.C. Anderson High School

Austin, TX

Erin Backus

Trimble Technical High School

Fort Worth, TX

Giancarlo Bernini

Science Academy of South Texas

Mission, TX

Margaret Berno

St. Agnes Academy

Houston, TX

Natalie Berry

Cy-Fair High School

Cypress, TX

Henry Boehm

Vanguard College Preparatory School

Waco, TX

Shannon Carey

Georgetown High School

Georgetown, TX

Janelle Chavez

Port Isabel High School

Port Isabel, TX

Gabriela Coelho

Talawanda High School

Oxford, OH

Forest Cummings-Taylor

St. Mark's School of Texas

Richardson, TX

Theo Daniels-Kolin

Washington International School

Bethesda, MD

Isabelle Donatelli

Kent Place School

Upper Montclair, NJ

Mark Dovich

Walnut Hills High School

Cincinnati, OH

Justin Dunlap

Westlake High School

Austin, TX

Michael Everett

Carroll Senior High School

Southlake, TX

Ale Fores

United South High School

Laredo, TX

John-Anthony Fraga

Harlingen High School South

Harlingen, TX

Burke Garza

St. Mark's School of Texas

Dallas, TX

Jacqueline Gibson

Ursuline Academy

Cedar Hill, TX

Chandler Groves

Carroll Senior High School

Southlake, TX

Elyse Guilstorf

John H. Guyer High School

Corinth, TX

Jocelyn Hernandez

Robert E. Lee High School

San Antonio, TX

Jacqueline Huang

Cinco Ranch High School

Katy, TX

Anne-Marie Hwang

The Hockaday School

Plano, TX

Dominic Iannelli

Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas

Southlake, TX

Eunice Iyalho

Mansfield High School M

ansfield, TX

Mandy Justiz

St. Andrew's Episcopal School

Austin, TX

Sam Kerner

Plano East Senior High School

Plano, TX

Chris Koenig

Sharyland High School

Mission, TX

Seth Krasne

Coronado High School

El Paso, TX

Denise Kwong

Clear Lake High School

Houston, TX

Phoebe Lin

Plano West Senior High School

Plano, TX

Carson Markle

Gainesville High School

Gainesville, TX

Omar Mata

KIPP Houston High School

Houston, TX

Kelsey Mumford

Lago Vista High School

Lago Vista, TX

Santosh Murugan

Trinity Valley School

Fort Worth, TX

Daniel Noorily

Health Careers High School

San Antonio, TX

Hank Patton

Portage Northern High School

Portage, MI

Vasia Pobedinski

St. John's School

Houston, TX

Alex Rabinovich

McAllen Memorial High School

McAllen, TX

Christine Ramjee

Highland Park High School

Dallas, TX

Chessie Reece

Trinity High School

Euless, TX

Matt Reitman

Business Careers High School

San Antonio, TX

Ben Rindler

Saint Mary's Hall

San Antonio, TX

Clarissa Rivera

Brownsville Early College High School

Brownsville, TX

Caroline Rock

Belton High School

Temple, TX

Marissa Rodriguez

El Paso High School

El Paso, TX

Melody Rodriguez

Fort Worth Country Day

Fort Worth, TX

Reece Rosenthal

The Kinkaid School

Houston, TX

Ramee Saleh

Ronald Reagan High School

San Antonio, TX

Roshini Saravanakumar

Clear Springs High School

League City, TX

Kaylee Schnur

The Woodlands College Park High School

The Woodlands, TX

Celia Shaheen

Plano West Senior High School

Plano, TX

Haden Smiley

Friona High School

Friona, TX

Isabelle Stasenko

Peters Township High School

Venetia, PA

Lakshmi Uppalapati

The Hockaday School

Coppell, TX

Audrey Urbis

Los Fresnos High School

Brownsville, TX

Audra Vigil

Manzano High School

Albuquerque, NM

Douglas Ziman

John Cooper School

The Woodlands, TX