Scholastic Awards
Intel
Siemens
bumping this thread because i like it!
Three new ones to rank and consider:
-getting 1st in state athletic competition (e.g. Cross Country team earned top spot in state 6a (big school) division) OR becoming All-State Athlete in sport–I’m thinking tier 5/4
-President’s Volunteer Service Award gold (200 hours), silver (175 hours), and bronze (150 hours)–I’m thinking tier 2
-“We The People” nationals winner (Constitutional debate program)–I’m thinking tier 6
Also, Eagle Scout definately deserves to be on tier 5. It’s a very long, leadership-proving, process that very few (<4% of scouts) earn. It requires commitment (6 years for me), persistance (meetings, campouts, merit badges, project), leadership abilities (leadership positions, Eagle Project) and produces solid citizens. Additionally, when it comes to Service Academies, Eagle Scout is the #1 “point-getter” to get in. If it matters that much to Forbes’s ranked #1 college, West Point, then it belongs at least in tier 5.
Doubt. These are really prestigious awards that a very small group of kids get. Yale and Harvard want to be known for producing awesome scientists and doctors too! It’s not like they’re LACs that specialize in writing or something. Obviously MIT/Caltech place greater weight on scientific abilities than Harvard as a “benchmark”, but the Ivies like kids that are especially good at certain areas (not that well rounded kids are out) and those awards are a great way to show excellence in science.
So how would y’all rank a Certamen award at the NJCL tournament? For example, this year my team made it to the top 3 and finished in second (lost by a single tie breaker question that was challenged!)
Training for Certamen takes up literally all of June and July and the convention’s timing prevents me from doing any camps/internships/courses during the summer, so I want to know if attending this summer (I will be a rising senior) would be worth it if my team ended up winning the championship.
Oh and also, do you think a high score would rank any different from a 1st place on an exam? (1st place = best in division, high score = best score out of all divisions)
Sorry for all the Latin-y questions, but CCers are the best with answering all kinds of EC queries 
All i know is the winner of the harvard certament usually ends up attending harvard lol 
If you go semifinalist for USAMO, USAChO, USAPhO, and USABO, do you have a good chance at M.I.T. or Princeton given that everything else is pretty normal?
you’ll have a better chance than the kids at my schilds school. they never went on this forun and i remember one saying well i do have a few C grades but i’m an eagle scout so i’m applying to mit …sigh
Please somebody add “Eagle Scout” to the top of the list.
Where would the Brain Bees stand in this list?
@BioChemPhysMath
Making AIME and semis in all three of the science olympiads is certainly an achievement, and colleges will look upon you very favorably as a math/science candidate. However, making USAMO or the study camp for USABO/USNCO/USPhO is far more impressive, as it shows you have a clear passion/focus for a specific area of science (which you’ll likely list as your prospective major on apps), and having that kind of cred is carries much more weight than being “proficient” in all three or four.
@trumpetjean
Brain Bee, like everything else, is only impressive if you manage to make it to a high enough level (national or international in Brain Bee’s case i think) AND it corroborates the rest of your application (it will help a biology/chemistry/neuroscience applicant but for a history major yes it will help but less so)
How prestigious is having something like a world record?
I have a friend who has a world record in cup stacking.
Has anyone heard of the Student Policy Alliance? Wonder how getting accepted there would rank on this scale.
<a href=“http://www.studentpolicyalliance.org%5B/url%5D”>http://www.studentpolicyalliance.org</a>
Is there a criteria for measuring the prestigiousness of a competition? Is it based on the number of people who participate and the percent of people who qualify for an award? Is it based on whether the topic is hard?
I’ll throw in my own updates version, with GSF and more.
10 - D1 athlete, IMO/IPHO/ICHO/IBO medals, Intel (top 10), Siemens National Winner/National Finalists, ISEF top 3 Grand Prize, Google Science Fair age group winner, Published in Nature or Science, RSI
9 - Siemens Westinghouse (finalists), Google Science Fair Finalist, MOP, Intel Finalist, NFL Nationals winner (speech and debate)
8 - TASP, USPhO/USChO/USABO/USACO national finalist, Google Science Fair Semifinalist, Siemens Semi-finalists/ISEF(1-4 places), Intel semifinalist, Running your own <em>successful</em> business, AMC Perfect Score, Presidential Scholar, Davidson Fellow, Presidential Scholar of the Arts, Scholastic Art & Writing Portfolio Gold Award
7 - Selective summer programs or competitions, such as SSP, Clark Summer Program, YESS, NIH Research, and MITES. USAMO qualification, ARML Tiebreaker Round / Top Team, Scholastic Art & Writing National Silver or Gold Medal. NFL Nationals qualifier (speech and debate), Congressional Award Gold Medalist, USAMTS Gold Medal, YES Competition (Young Epidemiology Scholarship) Top 4, Science Bowl/Ocean Science Bowl/NAQT winners.
6 - USPhO/USChO/USABO/USACO semifinalist, Science Olympiad National medals, Congressional Award Silver Medalist
5 - National Latin Convention 1st Places Academic Contests, All-Eastern/all-regional music, National History Day winner, AIME qualification, Science Bowl national qualification, Art and Writing Regional Gold award
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), National History Day, JETS TEAMS National Finalist or Regional winner, MUN Gavel, AMC 10/12 school winner
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, State History Day
1 - National Honor Society, Beta Club, School Departmental Awards, School Honor Roll, Key Club, CSF, Interact Club
0 - Who’s Who, National Honor Roll, National Society of High School Scholars
where would you put USA(J)MO? Making JMO is definitely harder than any of the science semifinals, but easier than USAMO…so a 6.5?
*harder than making any of the science semifinals
President’s award. My sister got one
Where would you rank:
- Research in various labs through out high school
- Summer research internship not through NIH,etc (above listed organizations?)