Hi, I wanted to know whether awards receiver in high school make a big difference in college apps??? I have decent grades but somehow I never get awards. Likewise, I have a friend who has similar grades to me and has gotten many awards, including Harvard book. How does this work and is this a major deciding factor for colleges??
They matter. As to how much that depends on the college and the award.
^^^ A lot of times awards make you stand out in a sea of applications. When applying to highly selective schools (i.e. Ivies), they especially matter just because so many qualified applicants still get rejected.