I do interviews for a top 20 university. I don’t see any part of the students application. One would expect that the student would mention any major awards in the interview. I do know who, of the students I interview, gets admitted. These students are very bright and have done some great work but it is a small minority who actually have any kind of award.
It does seem that those that exhibit a desire to really push themselves to achieve, awards or not, are the ones most likely to be admitted.
You could also look for the Harvard AO handbook that was released because of the affirmative action lawsuit. It ranks various activities and awards into tiers and shows how many admitted students fall into that tier.
Please refrain from needless back and forth bickering.
My kid had two first place awards in two major international level competitions in his main EC, and he NEVER would have brought this up in his interview! He also didn’t mention it in his essays. They were there on his application listed under awards, to be seen by those charged with evaluating it; he would have felt that any further mention of it without being asked by the interviewer would have been seen as bragging. I know that he discussed his involvement in his main EC with his interviewer, but I doubt he ever mentioned his awards. But I’m also sure that the admissions committee saw them when they reviewed the application.
Asking whether awards matter is like asking whether GPA or SAT/ACT or recommendations matter. Yes, they do matter, but if your level of achievement is very high, the lack of major awards would matter less. I don’t think that you should decide not to apply to any T20 schools if you have all the other components, and are only missing awards.
Some awards matter (IMO and the like) and may give you an edge. But, as someone else said, the types of awards that significantly influence admissions decisions are awarded to a very small number of students relative to the total number of kids applying to these schools (i.e. most applicants will not have received one of them). The lack of an award shouldn’t deter you from applying and it won’t be the reason if you aren’t admitted.
Awards are your elevator speech. They are how you quickly differentiate and sell yourself amongst the crowd around you. Saying “Semifinalist in international Philosophy essay contest. (15k entries)” is a very efficient way of getting someone’s attention.
But again, the question was - do i need to have awards of some kind to get accepted into a top 20.
Everyone is debating whether they are important and we all have differing opinions and I never said they weren’t, I simply said it’s the substance behind them that matters.
But I think we all owe the OP an answer - and i say, even with no awards, still apply and you can still get in.
If the OP is an international student and comes from a culture where awards are uncommon, then maybe. For domestic applicants, I would find it odd for any reasonable candidate (top few %) to not have any awards. Maybe the OP is defining awards too narrowly.
Many applying to top colleges with have awards - such as AP with Distinction - but it’s meaningless - your scores are what matters (you needed x tests with a 3). If the OP doesn’t have that and their school offers significant APs, then they’ll be hurt on rigor. So you’re right, most will have.
My son got the top 25 award every year - but again, what does that mean? His GPA and rigor meant the most.
You may find it odd - but back to their question, would you advise them not to apply to a top 20 without an award?
The fact that some awards don’t mean much doesn’t mean that ALL awards don’t mean much.
There are awards that matter and Harvard AO handbook proves it.
There is a topic in this forum started almost 15 years ago that is still active:
The original question was not whether or not an award can provide a boost (which, in certain cases - IMO etc- it definitely can) but whether an award was necessary for admission. The answer to that is no.
Awards are a public recognition of achievement. As others have said some awards are more meaningful then others and the effort behind the award is what is most relevant.
With that said the vast majority of students at top colleges have been recognized with awards in addition to having academic records and test scores that suggest they will thrive at a top school.
This goes to the reality that these elite schools aren’t just looking for exceptional students but exceptional students plus something else that they will add to the broader community.
So at many of the elites 60+ percent of the students will have been class Val/Sal of their graduating class and or perfect test scores. When it gets interesting is when you talk to them and realize what likely distinguished them.
Typical answer “Athlete of the Year”, published creative writing, National math or science recognition, accomplished musicians started company. In most cases these successes at these activities resulted in some distinction, recognition or award.
So to answer OPs question, in the absence of this level of accomplishment I would not recommend wasting effort in applying to T20 (unless you want to just take a shot). If however your “thing” isn’t easily defined or publicly recognized but meaningful and relevant, then go for it and use your application to provide context.
Anecdotal, but I got into most of the T20s I applied to without any major awards (one language award that’s common at my school, and then a local-level chemistry recognition). However, I was doing unique activities at a high level, there were just no awards to recognize me or my peers. Lack of awards is not a reason to not apply.
I continue to get my posts flagged - not sure why but here is what Harvard looks for - and it does not mentioned awards. I am not saying they can’t help - but I have answered the OPs question and you should do - his question is - can he get into a top 20 without an award? My answer is yes. What is yours?
Our back and forth is not relevant to the question he asked.
Probably worth reading beyond the title…
OP specifically asks “ do I need to have awards of some kind if I want to be accepted into some of the top 20 schools?”
A bit of a more nuanced question about which people may have different experiences and perspectives. A bit ironic to post a superfluous comment suggesting others comments are superfluous😀
So the title and the content ask two different questions. Skieurope answered both. Then some people started muddying the water explaining how awards don’t have ANY impact on the admissions. Which is definitely false.
Is it necessary to have awards? No.
Is it sufficient to have awards? No.
Does it help to have awards? Sure. But it depends on the award. “Math Olympian” is different than “Best Oatmeal Cookies in Class”
There are lots of great achievements and activities that don’t have awards associated with them.
So, you just read the headline and not the OP’s actual question (the two don’t match, fyi)? His question was whether or not he “needed” to have an award to be accepted and you know, as well as I do, that he doesn’t. Yes, some awards matter and give applicants a significant boost (especially those from the list that was linked), but not all awards are noteworthy. I’d say its akin to being a recruited athlete (big boost) vs. being the captain of your school soccer team (not recruited). I don’t think I said anywhere that awards don’t matter at all (in fact I know I didn’t).
Pretty sure the OP was unfamiliar with the fact that not all awards are equal which is why they asked. In fact I’d suggest many kids (and their parents) don’t know that - they don’t realize that their local award for xyz isn’t going to be a huge deal to Ivy type schools.