Well when I said maximize I meant advantageously, not quantitatively. She has honors, just the same ones you’d expect of every other average excellent student. The most improved in the honors section, if applicable, would offer something unique that would stand out more, hence the post.
However, to your point, yes I was assuming if she has the honors to fill the space, even if typical for a high stats student (like AP Scholar with Distinction, etc) they best put in there rather than left blank…?
Thanks for advice and dialogue, D24 has put in the work, just trying to help make sure all that work is framed in its best light!
Our GS suggested putting in all the honors, even the common ones, if there was room. They just said to prioritize the list so national stuff went first, then regional, state, school, etc… For athletics, they said to do it by time commitment and personal involvement. Athletic awards went with their corresponding sport under activities.
I think the insight relevant to the question you are asking is sort of captured by something I have seen many AOs say at this point, which is when it comes to things like activities/honors, they are really looking for depth/quality over quantity. Some have even said they tend to focus on just the first few things listed, and just quickly look through the rest.
In this context, to me if you have some X that is going to make one of your top activities look deeper/higher-quality, you likely want to use it that way, rather than list X separately somewhere. It may not matter, of course, but strategically if you can make a top thing look even deeper/higher-quality, that seems likely to get the most value out of it for AOs thinking like this.
And if that leaves a slot open, fine. But even if not, I think the point is packing what you can into the top few slots is generally a good idea.
Agree with this. What is that saying that Ski often uses, “the thicker the file, the thicker the applicant”? The AO (especially first readers) budget finite time per application. IMO, applicants need to approach applications to selective colleges from the basis of what story do I want to tell about me that will make me an asset to the school community, academically and socially. There should be a reinforcing connection between essays, LoR’s, activities and honors. Throwing everything you can think of on a wall is not a good strategy.
Basically, you want to give them an assembled Lego X-Wing Fighter, not a bag of bricks.
And they are going to admit all sorts of different Lego sets at most of these selective colleges. But it is making it hard on them if they are just looking at a bunch of different bags of bricks and trying to figure out for themselves what they make.
May have done a lot of Legos with my S24, feeling a little nostalgic . . . .
Another concept I like is the “elevator pitch”:
The application is much longer than an elevator pitch, but I like to imagine a reader making an elevator pitch for an applicant to an Admissions Committee. What would they say in like 30 seconds to explain why you should be admitted?
Again, every successful pitch can be different, but I think you really want to make it easy for your readers to know what sort of pitch they could make for you.