<p>There's something that has been bugging me for a while now and I feel like I'm gonna go insane if I keep trying to figure out by myself, so I'll ask you guys: awards. You see, my school (and by extension, my country) doesn't have many competitions that reward students with awards. They have only a national Maths, Biology and Physics competition (separately) and an intern Chemistry competition. And some random, obscure writing competitions too.</p>
<p>The problem is: those areas aren't my expertise, not even close, so I never really advanced much on them, even though I was a semi-finalist for the Chemistry competition. Does that lessen my chances at the top schools in any way? I do have a leadership position (co-founder) of my school's debate team that is aiming for awards in the Model-UNs countrywide and such, but still, the doubt prevails.</p>
<p>The selective universities like applicants who are successfully engaged in something. Bonus points for initiative and leadership. </p>
<p>Awards in academic competitions are one way to demonstrate one’s potential for success but certainly not the only one. Starting and leading your own club showcases all of the traits and skills that colleges are looking for; if you can make your club nationally or internationally competitive, you have really accomplished something!</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I have a friend who was the vice president of the young adult section of a major national party in her home country. She didn’t need any awards. Her political accomplishments combined with her strong academic record got her accepted to several Ivies.</p>