Like the title suggests, I have no awards. Of course, I have the very basic ones like AP Scholar w/ Distinction and Honor Roll, but I didn’t really do much to get them. They’re awards everyone has. I’m in NHS as well, but that’s in my ECs - same thing w/ Track varsity letter. I don’t have any stand-out awards that I know of at least. Am I screwed?
The idea of a college application is to present what you have done in the most favorable light. I suggest you focus on what you have accomplished, not the things you don’t have.
No, you’re not screwed. My eldest had zero awards in HS my youngest had a raft of them. I don’t think their admission results were influenced by this in any way! The common app is organized to give you a place for everything. If you don’t need it, leave it blank.
NHS is great! Not everyone has that! A varsity letter and honor roll are great too! Believe it or not, not everyone has those.
Do you go to a large high school? It’s very difficult to win awards at the large schools. AO know that. No worries. You’re fine. The most important things are GPA, course rigor and test scores.
Please don’t think that CC represents a typical group of high school students!!! The typical kid applying to college has a pretty bare “awards” section. And many, many, would LOVE to have the ones you’ve listed.
Trophies, medals and certificates aren’t the only types of awards. A promotion or leadership position is a type of award. If your art was chosen to be displayed somewhere special, that could count.
I’m not saying to fill in all the blanks because “nature abhors a vacuum”. Just think of it as “honors and awards” in a broader sense.
Agree with above. Hard to put down what you don’t have. So you didn’t find a cure for cancer yet? Well then the Varsity, honor roll and NHS will have to do. My son sounded the same since it seemed like everybody at his school had NHS. He didn’t want to even put it on his application since he didn’t think it made him stand out at all from his peers. Then I told him… It doesn’t matter what You think. It matters what the Afcoms think of it. If you don’t put it down then they simply won’t know about it. All of this stuff is positive. Keep putting down positive things on your applications and don’t worry about what you don’t have.
Don’t worry. My son had only a couple big awards from Middle School and one big award from summer camp (leadership award for counselor). Other than that zero. He didn’t even have NHS because of a dumb mistake he made his freshman year that disqualified him, per his school, (but luckily didn’t go onto his hs record). The schools he chose didn’t mind at all. They loved the things he did and emphasized. He had no clubs in hs at all (giant school), no leadership positions to say except an iffy one in an off-the-wall sport. He got into Honors college, has leadership positions in college, and got into a highly selective program. It will be fine. Just emphasize your strong points and what makes you stand out.
If you are in NHS, that means that you have done well academically, have shown leadership, and have done community service. THose are all things colleges look for.
So should I put NHS and my varsity letter in honors even if they’re in my ECs? Also, I had one of my short stories published in a magazine that members of NEHS put out each year. Idk if it’s really significant or not, though.
I’d only put NHS and the varsity letter in one place. Admissions officers are swamped and will have no interest in reading the same thing twice.
If you want to put the published story in that is fine.