Can this be considered an award?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello all,</p>

<p>I am an international applicant from Brazil posting here in CC to gather some more knowledge about the American college admission process.</p>

<p>Right now, I have a peculiar doubt to resolve whether a certain 'distinction' may be considered an award or not for college admission.</p>

<p>Here's the thing: In November 2010, I've taken the Brazilian standardized test which is used for college admissions in my country. Here, however, one only needs to have a good score on such test to be granted an admission offer; he or she doesn't need ECs, recs, etc. </p>

<p>On January 14 this year, the results finally came out. [With the scores in hands, the student is able to pick a university and a course and send the grades. An admission offer is evaluated upon space basis for that certain course (usually the top 60 scores for that course get in).] Fortunately (but not so much since I'm not enrolling), I've passed for mechanical engineering at my local public university (the most prestigious one in the state) ranking 2nd among +/- 400 candidates.</p>

<p>Finally, my question is: can I claim such result as an award or something else in my college applications (US ones)? I hold this doubt because I know that, for instance, if I were offered an admission to Stanford, I wouldn't use my acceptance as an 'award' in my application for Princeton (just as an example). Still, for the fact that it's a foreign distinction, I am not sure whether it would add or not to my applications.</p>

<p>What's your point of view?</p>

<p>Thank you for your attention!</p>

2

<p>I would not necessarily list it as an award, unless it actually comes with some sort of certificate and name. OTOH, there is a place on the application to give them additional information, and you should put it there. Have you already applied to colleges?</p>

3

<p>Yes, I have already submitted all of my applications.</p>

4

<p>Then send an email to all the schools telling them this. It really strikes me as impressive and worth sharing. No school is going to be prejudiced against you for sending in too much info. They might ignore it, but it also might help. If you have a counselor at your school who would be willing to write a letter to your schools on your behalf, even better. Have you done the mid year report yet?</p>

5

<p>I have graduated from high school in November. My counselor has already submitted all forms (mid and final).</p>

6

<p>Does anyone else have a different opinion about this?</p>

7

<p>I think that scoring highly on the national exam is a relevant new achievement, and you should let the U.S. colleges know about it in a letter.</p>