I was just wondering about this. I play the cello and I’m in my school’s varsity orchestra. I know a lot of people say that admissions officers like to see that you’ve won awards in your extracurriculars, which I have for the cello, but only at a regional solo contest. This year I’m trying to compete on more of a state level.
However, playing the cello and being in orchestra has taught me values, something that I can write about a lot.
So my question is, do admissions officers care more about awards for extracurriculars or how it has impacted you? Can one make up for the other? Or do they just judge depending on other components of your application?
Certificates, medals and trophies are not the only kind of “award”. Promotions or increased responsibilities within a part time job, club, or organization are all awards. Acceptance into various honor societies are awards. Scholarships you apply for and win are also awards.
Awards belong in the awards section of the application, and will generally make for a less interesting essay than the lessons and impacts coming from the experiences. They’re two different parts of the application. If you’ve got both those things - and a great GPA - you’re ahead of the game.
You don’t have to guess as to what “makes up” for something else in an application. The most/more important and less important factors are all listed for each college on it’s Common Data Set. They’re very informative, and I suggest looking it up for each college you aspire to attend.