<p>Today in school, we had an awards assembly and I received the Dartmouth Book Award from the local Dartmouth Alumni Club...does anybody know what this is? I mean, I got a book from them and they said it was very prestigious, but I've never heard of it. Anyone care to enlighten me? Thanks!</p>
<p>Book Awards are given by Alumni Associations of a specific university as a way of promoting the University, maintaining a high profile in the local community, etc. An alumnus designates a High School that he wants to target and makes a financial contribution to the association. The Alumni Association chooses a book (usually a dictionary...etc ) and notifies the High School that the "University X Book Award" will be available that year for the high school. The high school then chooses a top student based on academic performance to receive the award. (If you notice it should have the name of the alumnus sponsoring the ward printed on the book)</p>
<p>It is a very prestigious award and somehting that will look very nice in your Resume for your college applications next year. Congratulations!</p>
<p>Awards like this matter very little, actually. Colleges know how high school awards work...they're usually a joke.
They have your whole application...they look past awards to see what you're actually academically and socially made of.</p>
<p>But just like National Honor Society or another "overall" award, it's an indication of your ability and how your teachers perceive you. It's shorthand for the fact that you're a top, well-rounded student.</p>
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<p>well I think s snack is waaaayyyyy off. A Book Award is not at all like "National Honor Society" awards were the student has to pay for it. Is being Valedictorian (which is a high school award) a joke?? Colleges DO NOT look past awards based on academic standing, which is how these awards are given. Not everyone with a specific grade or GPA gets one, but ONLY those with the highest academic credentials in the class. They are also somewhat exclusive because not every high school class has them and some high schools (s snack's ?) may not give them at all....</p>
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<p>It's very nice and pleasant to get awards and recognition for your hard work in high school, but ultimately they will matter very little in the application process. Think about it this way: the people that apply to America's top colleges are the top students from all of America's high schools. There is a good chance most applicants to a school like Dartmouth will have a book award or some other type of high school award. It really won't distinguish you very much.</p>
<p>There is a big difference between a book award and being a valedictorian, however, although ultimately being valedictorian doesn't help you very much either (Harvard rejects half of all vals that apply, etc etc).</p>