hmm that does sound suspicious lol^
Would HOBY (Hugh O’ Brian) count for anything?
Theres probably another reason they were rejected. 100% of I_O gold winners get in everywhere 99% silver 98% bronze 97% everyone else. (I just made that up but its probably accurate :))
HOBY: No, useless.
This information might be scattered throughout this thread, but can someone post a list of prestigious awards for humanities, social sciences, writing, and civic leadership awards and essay contests?
Well, making the Olympiad team in some countries isn’t really as hard as making in others, so just attending isn’t always a really big deal. But then, international admissions is completely different, and making the US team in anything basically guarantees you a medal.
Making a Chinese team is even more impressive. Especially for Math. They generally outperform America except for Reid who was an AMAZING person.
Hey is getting to the Chemistry Olympiad semifinalist really as impressive as getting there for Biology Olympiad? cause isn’t the semifinalist for chem just taking the national test, which means you ohnly have to be the top kid in your school, while for biology u actually have to be top 500 overall?
Finalist or you made it. Semifinalist means youre not a failure at life.
which one is more prestigious to get to the semifinalist, the USABO or the USNCO?
“There are no humanities awards under 10, that should be revised. Davidson Fellow is definitely a 10.”
What about Girl Scout Gold Award or Eagle Scout???
Davidson Fellow isn’t strictly a humanities award…
Let the e-world know that this thread was started by a Harvard student.
Also, Carroll > Chinese team.
i think the john f kennedy library ‘profiles in courage’ essay contest should be added to this list.
When someone sees “Chemistry Olympiad,” “Biology Olympiad,” and “Physics Olympiad,” would that person see a difference in difficulty? (especially without knowing how many people take the test, blah.
In my personal opinion:
Chemistry Olympiad Semifinals (900+ students) is easier to get than Biology Olympiad Semifinals (500? students, don’t remember), which is easier to get than Physics Olympiad Semifinals (158 students this year).
By that token, however, it is hardest to make the chemistry study camp based on probability alone (20 students / 900+). Physics is the easiest in this regard as well (24/158 students).
I’m not sure about the Biology Olympiad, but I can say that many, many more people take the Chemistry Olympiad tests than the Physics Olympiad tests due to their respective difficulties (no calculus vs. calculus?). Thus, the Chemistry Olympiad is more competitive (not conclusive).
omg i feel so dumb here 
10 - D1 athlete, IMO/IPHO/ICHO/IBO gold medals, Intel (top 10), Siemens National Winner/National Finalists, ISEF top 3 Grand Prize
9 - ISEF(1st places), Siemens Westinghouse (finalists), MOP, Intel Finalist, Presidential Scholar, Davidson Fellow
8 - TASP/RSI/NIH Research, USPhO/USChO/USABO/USAMO/USACO national finalist, Siemens Semi-finalists/ISEF(2-4 places), Intel semifinalist, Scholastic Writing and Art, Running your own <em>successful</em> business
7 - USPhO/USChO/USABO/USAMO/USACO semifinalist,
6 - Selective summer programs or competitions, such as SSP, Clark Summer Program
5 - National Latin Convention 1st Places Academic Contests, All-Eastern/all-regional music,
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)
3 - All-County music, winning at local/regional science fairs, Eagle Scout, National Merit
2 - Bank of America Awards, most local awards/trophies (art, music, community - although they will say something about your character), Essay Contests
1 - National Honor Society, Beta Club, School Departmental Awards, School Honor Roll
0 - Who’s Who, National Honor Roll
^Eagle scout is being ranked way too highly by some probably biased individuals. Anyone could become an eagle scout if they had the time and wanted to, and doing so doesn’t signify recognition or skills that benefit a college to the same extent that other 5, 6, 7, or 8s do on this list. It is more in line with something like national merit, which should also be a 3ish.
^Ap scholar and all of the variations shouldn’t be on the list at all, they are simply an acknowledgement of your AP scores which if a school considers in admission they will. In addition, it is much more of a testament to your resources than your ability.
^I would probably put TASP an RSI at an 8.5/9ish level. The selectivity of these programs pulling from an already self-selected pool assures that the students who are selected are among the most exceptional people, students selected exhibit the qualities of people most successful in college and life in general (bias showing). As a TASPer, I can testify that the skill set and experience gained from a TASP is exactly what any top college is looking for in a student body, and they know this.
In a more objective light, programs like RSI and TASP have developed a track record of students doing exceptionally well academically and proving among the greatest contributers to a college environment. So when a school sees one of these programs on an application, they know that there is a significantly higher chance that that student will be exceptional as well. The situation is similar to employers looking at a Harvard degree (bias again). Correlation can insight causation.
Exactly, the difficulty of becoming an Eagle Scout varies a lot from one troop to the next. There are troops known as “eagle factories,” where Boy Scouts get their Eagle badges in 2-3 years. It’s about the equivalent of getting 400 hours of community service. It doesn’t really show an individual’s skills (well except the leadership required to perform an Eagle project, but even that isn’t that hard to acquire). Rather, it just shows commitment to a cause. It should be rated a 3 or 4, maybe a 5 at best IMO.
Also, D1 athlete kind of varies by college and sport… 
Do big Model UN competition awards get you anywhere? Like winning best at the conference in the UN? (UNUSA)
By this (somewhat off, but whatever) table, what do you guys have?
Me - 30, I think, if somebody who said a first place at National History Day was the equivalent of qualifying for ISEF was right.
qualifying for ISEF isn’t that hard from some places…
Well, I would have no idea, haha.
To put it in perspective, National History Day has about 800,000 participants nationwide; about 3,000 make it to the national contest and 16 win first place medals. So, what do you think?