<p>Title.</p>
<p>Would it be enough to tip a borderline applicant at a school like MIT?</p>
<p>It helps but it’s not a guarantee. </p>
<p>@DrGoogle But how much?</p>
<p>I’m not Adcom but one year a female student got accepted to tons of schools like Caltech, MIT, Princeton, and more.</p>
<p>@DrGoogle I’m assuming she was a semi-finalist?</p>
<p>Yes, she went to Harker, top private school from the Bay Area.</p>
<p>anyone else?</p>
<p>Congrats on Siemens SF! Obviously, Siemens is a prestigious competition. As @DrGoogle already said, this award definitely helps. However, there is nobody other than the individual admissions officers at each school you apply to who can tell you whether or not it is a tip at their school. There are so many factors that go into each decision that yours is an impossible question to answer. Just submit the strongest apps you can and enjoy your senior year. (Easier said than done, I know. 
) Congrats, again.</p>
<p>Congrats! Here’s a ranking of “prestige” for various awards that I found on previous collegeconfidential posts. (From this you can see that a Siemens Semi Finalist is rather significant 
)</p>
<p>10 - D1 athlete, IMO/IPHO/ICHO/IBO medals, Intel (top 10), Siemens National Winner/National Finalists, ISEF top 3 Grand Prize, Published in Nature or Science</p>
<p>9 - Siemens Westinghouse (finalists), MOP, Intel Finalist, NFL Nationals winner (speech and debate), RSI</p>
<p>8 - TASP, USPhO/USChO/USABO/USACO national finalist, Siemens Semi-finalists/ISEF(1-4 places), Intel semifinalist, Running your own <em>successful</em> business, AMC Perfect Score, Presidential Scholar, Davidson Fellow, Presidential Scholar of the Arts, Scholastic Art & Writing Portfolio Gold Award</p>
<p>7 - Selective summer programs or competitions, such as SSP, Clark Summer Program, YESS, NIH Research, and MITES. USAMO qualification, ARML Tiebreaker Round / Top Team, Scholastic Art & Writing National Silver or Gold Medal. NFL Nationals qualifier (speech and debate), Congressional Award Gold Medalist, USAMTS Gold Medal, YES Competition (Young Epidemiology Scholarship) Top 4, Science Bowl/Ocean Science Bowl/NAQT winners, MATHCOUNTS top 12 sprint/countdown round,State AP Scholar (as junior or even sophomore, requires about 15-20 AP’s that average a 4-5)</p>
<p>6 - USPhO/USChO/USABO/USACO semifinalist, Science Olympiad National medals, Congressional Award Silver Medalist USAMTS Silver, MATHCOUNTS Nationals, First Robotics National Championship, State Athletic Championship (Texas, California, etc.)</p>
<p>5 - National Latin Convention 1st Places Academic Contests, All-Eastern/all-regional music, National History Day winner, AIME qualification, Science Bowl national qualification, National AP Scholar (as a junior or sophomore)</p>
<p>4- Perfect Score (Multiple Years) on National Latin Exam, or other languages, some state awards (all-state music, etc), Science Olympiad state medals (depending on what state you’re from), National History Day, JETS TEAMS National Finalist or Regional winner, MUN Gavel, AMC 10/12 school winner, Eagle Scout</p>
<p>3 - All-County music, winning at local/regional science fairs, National Merit, Rensselaer Medalist</p>
<p>2 - Bank of America Awards, most local awards/trophies (art, music, community - although they will say something about your character), Essay Contests, State History Day</p>
<p>1 - National Honor Society, Beta Club, School Departmental Awards, School Honor Roll, Key Club, CSF, Interact Club</p>
<p>0 - Who’s Who, National Honor Roll, National Society of High School Scholars</p>
<p>Source:
<a href=“*Reboot-ish* list of Ranked, Prestigious Awards. - High School Life - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/1378919-reboot-ish-list-of-ranked-prestigious-awards.html</a></p>
<p>@BlueOreos that’s very interesting! Thank you</p>
<p>No problem! Glad I could help</p>
<p>You should be able to put yourself in the shoes of an admissions officer to figure out the answer to your question. Consider an applicant(Student A) with a As in math and science but Bs in other topics. The student is a Siemans finalist. The study is one that was started when the student was in 9th grade. The design required that the student take measurements 4 times a day for 6-8 weeks. But that was not all. The study included a few replications. The student took the study one step further by considering generalization that required triple the number of trials with varying conditions. The related Letter of Recommendation noted that the student ran all the data herself-although certain measurements were completed by others to retain objectivity. The LOR also noted that it was entirely the student’s idea based on research she had been exposed to the summer after 8th grade at a program in a school across the country. How much would being a semi-finalist help this students application? Now consider Student B. She has the same GPA but she has gotten B+'s for most of her courses with no difference between her grades in humanities and her STEM grades. Her study was modeled after another study conducted by her advisor but the students was run under different conditions. This student was also a reporter on her school newspaper, played lacrosse, was on the x-country team, volunteered to help with the local food bank, and babysat. Her strongest letter, from the supervisor of the school newspaper and also her English teacher, stated that the student was among the very best ever. In the summer she was a camp counselor. The LOR from the camp director was a clear rave. How much do you think being a semi-finalist would help this student’s application? Same GPA, same award but Student B has more ECs, and has contributed more (volunteer experience) to her community. Both apply to the same schools and express interest in the same major. If a school were only going to accept one, which one would it be and why?</p>
<p>@lostaccount good points thanks</p>
<p>I like that list by @BlueOreos . Missing are athletic and music and art accomplishments, I’d say. These can be significant (all state athlete, regional/national music/dance/theatre competitions, etc.) As a list of academic awards/achievements, it’s a good measure. One thing I’d stress. The list of items next to item zero means they have zero effect. They are akin to say you breathe air.</p>