<p>I don't know specifically about the Princeton book award but far more than 6 or 12 per state are awarded of most book awards. You can look at Princeton alumni assocaition web sites and see that they handle it differently in dioffernet states (they say so themselves). It is sponsored by the alums, not by Princeton itself. The purpose is to raise the image of Princeton (or whatever the school is). It's a nice thing to get, and indicates a student is a top achiver in their high school, but that's about it.</p>