<p>Hey, ever since I've been reading this site, I've been hearing things about these "book awards" that are given out by college alumni clubs. </p>
<p>What exactly is the criteria for recieving this award? I'm a pretty active student academically and concerning ECs, so I would really like the honor of even being considered for such an award. Who exactly chooses who gets what book award, when, why, how, etc? </p>
<p>I really appreciate it a lot guys, thanks!</p>
<p>the faculty nominate individuals whom they feel are deserving of the awards. its based on academics, ecs, character, basically well-roundedness. i got mine as a junior at the senior honor cord ceremony.</p>
<p>You have to be selected by your school. you dont have to be the smartest student (4.0, Perfect SAT's) You just have to stand out in a number of ways. I got the UVA book award. My gpa from sophmore and junior yrs would probably be around a avg. 3.3. But i play two sports(co-capt), have been in numerous All State Choirs, Play two intruments, run two clubs, and am very active. as you can see im not the smartest student but im a leader and that's what most schools look for.</p>
<p>Book awards aren't necessarily given out the way they are intended to be. I believe ours are given out pretty much based on GPA. There's apparently some kind of order. The top two kids got Princeton and Yale. Columbia, Penn, and Dartmouth are next, but equal (I got Columbia), and so on.</p>
<p>Yea.The ultra smart kids got the Harvard, Yale, and Princeton Book Awards. Some of them have certain stipulations like a high Gpa. Others, like mine had that the student didnt have to be the smartest but had to demonstrate community service, good character, school spirit, yada yada yada.</p>
<p>What exactly is a book award?</p>
<p>We have Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Sewanee book awards. Sewanee is for writing in addition to academics (that's the one I got) and the other three are for academics and character.</p>
<p>yea..we have HYP, sewanne, UVA, Ole Miss, and one other i cant remember.</p>
<p>Book awards aren't a huge deal anyway so if you don't get one, don't worry about it.</p>
<p>at my school the val gets Harvard, sal Yale, 3rd UPenn, ...it's mainly on GPA/class rank</p>
<p>Book awards may vary, but my general understanding is that they are a local alumni group's effort to recognize accomplishment in a way that promotes their alma mater. </p>
<p>The ones I'm familiar with are funded by a local alumni club, not the institution itself. </p>
<p>It's not a given that the student getting the award will apply to the institution (nor is it a guarantee of admission) but it's good PR for the school; hundreds of people hear about the award, it might go in the paper, etc.</p>
<p>The criteria vary for each award, but generally focus on overall excellence.</p>
<p>However, if I were you, I'd focus on merely being excellent for the sake of excellence, rather than the sake of increasing your chances for a book award--the reasons you're awarded one of these are are a lot more important than any award you can recieve when it comes to the admissions game and other things.</p>
<p>At my school, it just goes by rank. Our #2 girl and #5 got it, despite the fact the girl only got 1800 on the SAT, when like 10 other kids have gotten 2000+. Our school is super lazy, and doesn't factor in EC's or scores, or even GPA or courseload. Just rank.</p>
<p>I go to a magnet school in New Jersey though. Is there any specific way to, I don't know, "get my name out there," so to speak. My school doesn't rank, and I've never even heard of these book awards til now, so maybe my school just doesn't give them out...?</p>
<p>they really arent a big deal. just be you...and teachers will recognize that.</p>
<p>The hiearchy of awards described by a couple of members is quite odd. Do they check the US News rankings to see which award the top student gets? Nothing like perpetuating arbitrary and incorrect perceptions of school superiority. And what do you tell the schools who want to give an award, but are designated at something other than the top? (Sure, Columbia, we'll be happy to hand out your award... for third place.)</p>