<p>Do the College Board AP awards make a difference on an Harvard application? Like that National AP Scholar and State Ap Scholar Awards, do they help or is it pointless with colleges like Harvard?</p>
<p>I would recommend mentioning them. However, as you seem to infer, the awards are quite common for students who attend Harvard so they do not, as a matter of course, confer a profound point of distinction among the applicant pool.</p>
<p>With all due respect to Senior Member, mifune, Harvard places a great deal of emphasis on AP tests. See: [Guidance</a> Office: Answers From Harvard’s Dean, Part 2 - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/harvarddean-part2/]Guidance”>Guidance Office: Answers From Harvard's Dean, Part 2 - The New York Times)</p>
<p>“We have found that the best predictors at Harvard are Advanced Placement tests and International Baccalaureate Exams, closely followed by the College Board subject tests. High school grades are next in predictive power, followed by the SAT and ACT. The writing tests of the SAT and ACT have predictive power similar to the subject tests.”
– William Fitzsimmons, Dean of Harvard Admissions</p>
<p>Thank you gibby!!! Hey do you know if it is possible to get named a state AP scholar your junior year?</p>
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<p>Yes, I hadn’t expressed that they weren’t. I stated that the prevalence of those with AP awards is quite high.</p>
<p>Being a National AP Scholar probably won’t tip you into the “accepted” pile, if that’s what you’re going for.</p>
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<p>Okay in your opinion what would tip me into the “accepted” pile?</p>
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<p>You ask this of the wrong sage - it is not I, but time, that will tell the answer.</p>
<p>Yeah I have NO CLUE what that means…</p>
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<p>The “what should I do to get into Harvard” question has no specific answer aside from the bare necessity of attaining a sufficiently high degree of academic achievement. Of course, non-academic qualifications (and perhaps any subjective factors) are necessary in conjunction with an otherwise strong application.</p>
<p>But regarding your initial question, it is perfectly fine to mention the relevant recognition for your high level of performance on AP exams, but they do tend to be more generic awards since so many applicants had similar levels of achievement.</p>
<p>Getting State AP Scholar in certain states is quite impressive. Granted, the award itself won’t do much for your application, since schools see the list of AP scores already.</p>
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If anyone could answer that question with any predictability they would be very wealthy selling their college admissions advising services.</p>
<p>I was just asking for your opinion I know there is not just one thing that tips you into there, but at the same time if you are going to say something doesn’t you have to have an opinion to what does</p>
<p>Win Siemens, Intel, ISEF, Nobel Prize, USAMO, USAPhO, USABO, USNCO, cure cancer etc. </p>
<p>Good luck with all that btw.</p>
<p>Would writing a best selling novel be a part of that list?</p>
<p>Yes, of course. However, best-selling novels are rarely written by those who have yet to graduate from high school. Even if one had the talent and dedication, the educational credentials would be absent.</p>
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<p>Not at Harvard - there is a member of the Class of 2013 who was a NYT best-selling author. 
I don’t want to blow up her spot, but if you look hard enough on Google, you can find out who she is.</p>
<p>^^I am going to take a wild guess but are you that 2013 NYT best selling author?</p>
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<p>I don’t have the discipline to do complete an endeavor as time-consuming as writing a book, and mifune is too busy studying for his MCAT to attempt writing such a work. :)</p>
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<p>Yes, hence my use of the word “rarely.” I am aware that there are instances of those who publish books before entering college.</p>