"So, What Do You Think?"

With a little over 48 hours left to weigh in on the Commencement Challenge, President Obama sent an email today asking for your help to narrow down the field: 

I need your help.

Earlier this year, I promised to speak at a high school's graduation somewhere in the United States. To be considered, we asked schools to tell us how they achieve three important criteria:

• Set a positive example for other high schools around the Country;
• Engage students in learning and foster personal responsibility and academic excellence; and
• Prepare students to graduate college to help meet my 2020 goal that America have the highest proportion of college graduates of any nation in the world.

We've narrowed down more than 1,000 entries to six finalists that each have a three-minute video and short essay you can review and rate. From now until Thursday, anyone can participate. Once the voting is over, I'll choose the winner from the top three.

Check out the six finalists:

http://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/commencement

So far, tens of thousands of people have weighed in on the six finalists in the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge and at this point, all of the finalists are neck and neck.  Your input will help decide which schools land in the top three for the President’s final decision.  Voting closes at 11:59 PM EDT on Thursday April 29, so be sure to weigh in before voting closes. 

If you didn’t get today’s email from President Obama, you can sign up for White House email updates here.

Lauren Paige is Director of Special Projects for White House Communications.