importance of academic awards/honors

Applying to College
1

<p>-i'm a junior looking to apply to Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Stanford, Pomona, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Cornell, Columbia, etc., etc.,
-i'm a pretty excellent student
9th grade GPA; 3.8 =(
10th grade GPA; 4.0
11th grade GPA; 4.1
projected 12th grade GPA; 4.2-4.3
i'm probably top 2-3% of class; at least top 5%
projected SAT; 2100+
projected SAT II US History; 700+
projected SAT II Biology M; 700+
-i took all Honors 9th and 10th grade, switched schools 11th grade currently taking 4 AP/IB classes, taking 4 AP/IB classes next year + college class at the local university
-the problem; although i'm at the top 5% of everything i do, i haven't actually received any academic distiniction or anything. yeah i've gotten straight A's, and i almost got commended for the PSAT. but nothing is TOP academic achievement. i haven't won some science compeittion or got some medal. how is this going to present a problem for me in college admissions?
my ECs are pretty decent too; i've played violin since 4th grade, piano since Kindergarden, symphonic orhcestra, assistant principal at junior district orchestra, senior regional orchestra, American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra since 7th grade, horseback riding since 4th grade, volunteering at therapeutic riding place, and animal rescue groups, employment at vet's office, attending Cornell's Summer College for Veterinary Medicine, vice president for school orchestra, church youth group leader
-my career goal is to become a vet(hence the volunteer activities)
-i can get great teacher recommendations and pretty sure i can write some stellar essays.
- i also know colleges look highly upon GPA upward trends
-my school for 9th and 10th grade did not allow sophomores to take AP/IB classes</p>

<p>bottom line; how important are academic honors/awards in college admissions, particularly to the colleges i'm looking into?
thanks</p>

2

<p>You look solid from your gpa, scores, and EC, but I think honor/awards still makes difference, and it might even become a decision factor since so many students are extrodinary nowadays. But I think you should get atleast into a couple of the schools in your list. Make sure you apply to some safety schools too.</p>

3

<p>Your stats are almost exactly like mine, like eerily similar every stat, score, etc. BTW I'm going to UT- Austin and got rejected from Penn.</p>

4

<p>anyone else?</p>

5

<p>Plenty of people with academic awards get rejected anyway. But this is strange. Had you posted in another forum with a more positive spin on your credentials (great GPA, classes, recs, essays, good activities) you probably would have gotten responses along the line of "you have a good shot, Ivys are a reach but if your SATs are good enough and you present yourself well enough on your application, anything is possible." Don't think about what you don't have, think about what you do have. As you fill out your applications, focus on what is important and unique to you (academic interests, activites, etc). It doesn't mean you will get in everywhere (nobody on CC can predict anyone's chances) but it is a lot more likely if you actually seem proud of your accomplishments rather than bemoan a lack of academic awards (which, depending on what they are, may not mean a lot anyway).</p>