10 - D1 athlete, IMO/IPHO/ICHO/IBO gold medals, Intel (top 10), Siemens National Winner/National Finalists, ISEF top 3 Grand Prize
9 - ISEF(2nd-4th places), Siemens Westinghouse (semifinalists), MOP, Scholastic Writing and Art Competition
8 - TASP/RSI, USPhO, USChO, USABO, USAMO, USACO
7 - other selective summer programs or competitions, such as YES, SSP, Clark Scholarships, HCSSiM
6 - National Merit Finalist, National AP Scholar AFTER Junior Year
5 - National Latin Convention 1st Places Academic Contests
4- Perfect Score (Multiple Years) on National Latin Exam, or other language, AP Scholar, some state awards
3 -
2 - Bank of America Awards, most local awards/trophies, Essay Contests
1 - National Honor Society, Beta Club, School Departmental Awards
0 - Who’s Who, National Honor Roll
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
8 - TASP/RSI, USPhO, USChO, USABO, USAMO, USACO, Siemens Semi-finalists/ISEF(2-4 places), scholastic writing
7 - other selective summer programs or competitions, such as YES, SSP, Clark Scholarships, HCSSiM
6 - National Merit Finalist, National AP Scholar AFTER Junior Year
5 - National Latin Convention 1st Places Academic Contests
4- Perfect Score (Multiple Years) on National Latin Exam, or other language, AP Scholar, some state awards
3 -
2 - Bank of America Awards, most local awards/trophies, Essay Contests
1 - National Honor Society, Beta Club, School Departmental Awards
0 - Who’s Who, National Honor Roll
MallomarCookie: “Overall impact on college admissions is one of the criteria. Therefore, Presidential Scholar should be very low on the list…”
I don’t see the logic here. Are you saying that being a Presidential Scholar has no (positive) impact on college admissions? I would put it on top 3. It is a lot harder to become a Presidential Scholar than to be a NMF. I can’t imagine that the qualifications of those scholars have are not helpful in their college admissions!
There are also two types of AP Awards: Siemens AP Award and Collegeboard AP Awards. I probably would rank Siemens’ a little higher than Collegeboard’s, because Siemens award only counts 8 math and science AP courses that are taken during and before junior and scored 5.
Who’s who should be -1 for it is a scam to sell merchandize.
But then again, conbrio, it’s very easy to tell who’s going to be a Presidential Scholar based on his/her SAT score alone. And since there’s no other criteria or additional effort to being named a candidate… well, why count for a great SAT score twice over? The program is mostly there for (SAT-)talented kids to get a chance to meet the President… and barely anything more.
You could say the same about NMF - except it is based on PSAT. You could say NM program mostly there for (PSAT-) talented kids to get a chance to get whatever.
I definitely agreed that AP awards should be higher than NMF.
“uh…can you be more specific? varisty soccer captain at your school would be like a 1-2, unless you win nationals, then its different”
because of the way most school-sponsored soccer leagues are organized, it’s not physically possible to compete in a national tournament. this is possible with club soccer, though. and i wouldn’t be so quick to discount the merit of soccer captaincy, it generally requires 4 years of dedication/hardwork/etc. to even be considered. especially if your school has a competitive soccer program.
Predator, Eagle Scout in my book is at least a 6. It is the culmination of at least six to seven years of intense work, training, and leadership opportunities. Only 2% of all kids in Scouts earn this prestigious rank. This is true hands on leadership. I really think that colleges do value this award a lot. This is not from anything that I have specifically heard, but going off gut feeling.
that’s why colleges don’t really care about Commended and Semifinalists. Finalists, however, actually have to go through some process, which I think involves GPA and essays. colleges even award full-ride scholarships for NM Finalists, so don’t discount its value.
hmm…what about awards in music? For example, being allstate or all-county…like about a 6 (if eagle scout is about a 6, they are both high levels of achievement over 6-7 years)
Alright, I am going to establish some “groupings” if you will.
9-10 Should be high level national and international acheivement that is a hook by itself at HYPSM level universities. The instantanteous “wow” factor
7-8 National distinction that recognizes one’s talents, but also acknowledges that there can be more improvement before one acheives total mastery over the field (USAMO). Also, many summer programs are included here because the more selective ones have admissions process similar to competitive colleges and are a good indicator of where one stands.
5-6 National Awards that are not as competitive, but still intense and takes dedication. A good comparison would be USAMO to MAO. The former clearly takes more dedication to win, but the latter is still a national competition that holds its own prestige. For all you math people, you would instantly note the difference.
3-4 Competitve State Awards (depending on state) and some really loose national awards where there is a collective amount of winners (national latin exam).
1-2 Regional Awards/Less Competitive State Awards
Keep in mind that everything is relative and we might not be able to answer questions like “all-state orchaestra,” because frankly, that depends way to much on the state and the context of that award. If you have national concerto awards to accompany that, then it would look more impressive. If that is all you have, then maybe it might be bumped down a couple of points due to the fact that that is all you have in relation to music.
I would be cautious to rank Eagle Scout that high not because it is not a good award, but because the award is more inclusive than exclusive. I am involved in scouts so I understand how much work it takes, but ultimately, larger national competitions will dwarf its “prestige.” Again, I would estimate it to be a 5 for this reason.
“hmm…what about awards in music? For example, being allstate or all-county…like about a 6 (if eagle scout is about a 6, they are both high levels of achievement over 6-7 years)”
Being musically inclined is somewhat of a natural talent (especially for something like chorus, but I do know that they work hard). But, regional and all-state are hardly selective. Most ‘decent’/good singers get chosen for regionals, and then the better ones for state. Not sure about band though. And considering that there are SEVERAL applicants who are going to have the same honor (think, all those states + all those regions), making it seem less of a prestigious award.