How much do awards matter?

Applying to College
1

<p>Over the past two or three years ( since freshman year) I have been an active FBLA -future business leaders of america member. I have been really committed and I have won on a regional, state and national level several times. </p>

<p>8th national 2008
6th national 2009
3rd regional 2009
2nd state 2009
3rd regional 2010
2nd regional 2010</p>

<p>All of these events have been really competitive and most have had more than 50 members. The national level events had more than 300 cumulative competitors total.</p>

<p>My question is, how much do these awards matter?
The UC site says that they only alot points to first, second and third place winnings despite the level and I also hear that on thier app there isnt exactly a whole bunch of places to list these numerous awards.
I am pretty darn proud of my achievements and I always thought colleges would look favorably upon them. </p>

<p>Do my fbla awards make any difference on my application? Do the UCs think they are reputable/ worth some credit? Do private universities look upon these awards favorably?</p>

<p>ps. dont get me wrong, I compete in fbla because I love the subject material not because I think it will help me get into college</p>

2

<p>These public universities are a lot more Stats (GPA/SAT) then they lead on to believe. You would have better luck with Private Universities. University of California is especially number based because of the sheer number of applicants they receive. For example, UC Santa Barbara got 59,000 applicants this year.</p>

3

<p>I would say that your awards show your commitment, which is what colleges truly care about. :slight_smile: Good luck!</p>

4

<p>I think awards are extremely important, because they show that you’ve accomplished something outside of school academics. They will definitely help you.</p>

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<p>You can always list them in the “additional info” section if the app has one or talk about your love for the activity in your essay. I know that at my school, you can compile a short “activity list” to hand to the guidance office, which your counselor will then send to the admission office along with the transcript and recommendations.</p>

5

<p>They prove your ability to apply yourself in succeed. They’re absolutely important. Though a previous poster was right in that public U’s tend to be stats-driven.</p>