Do Prestigious Middle School Awards Count At ALL?

Applying to College
1

So, basically, I was able to make the regional spelling bee in 7th grade… I am very proud of this accomplishment, but seeing as it was in middle school, I am wondering if colleges would consider this at all. Thanks

2

Nope.

3

In the Common App, you won’t be able to list this without lying, as it specifically asks to state what grade level you have earned the award, and most colleges know that spelling bees are middle school competitions anyway.

You can still write about it in your essays as long as the prompts don’t specify a certain grade constraint.

You may be able to get away with it on non-Common App applications but it’s best not to take the risk.

4

I actually listed a few of my more distinguished music achievements that I accomplished in middle school and prior under the “Additional Information” section with my high school achievements because they were all competitions/events that I participated in multiple times both in middle and high school, so I thought it’d just help emphasize my musical experience and devotion. To be fair, I did list them using years rather than grade levels, eg. 2006-2014; or 2010, 2012, 2014, and such to downplay the fact that some of them happened in middle school.

However, if anything was a standalone achievement in middle school with absolutely no ties to high school, I didn’t bother listing it. Unfortunately, I’d probably consider the spelling bee accomplishment a standalone achievement. I just want to possibly give an exception to the idea that “middle school achievements count for naught”. To be fair though, I’m not actually sure if the schools I applied to actually considered those middle school achievements or disregarded them entirely. If they ignored them, then oh well, it was worth a try at least.

5

My son got around this by writing an essay about his competing in Math Counts (8th grade) and he’s gotten into all the schools he has applied to so far (still waiting on two), so I guess it didn’t hurt him! Think he wrote it in the most challenging experience essay cause that event sure was an eye opener for him!