What are you even talking about? No one in the history of this thread has added the scores if that’s what you’re doing. Just relax and try to do the best you can. This is not a scientific exercise. It is just a bunch of opinions about how valuable certain honors, distinctions or awards are.
Admissions officers don’t sit and rank these activities and then add up the scores to decide if to admit applicants.
@kjake2000 By 38, are you referring to the sum of the 5 honors that are listed on the Common App? If so, a sum of 38 would be very good as it implies something like 3 8’s and 2 7’s. However, as mentioned above, admission is definitely not solely based on your achievements, and you should not worry too much about your “score.”
lol i would definitely put eagle scout at at least a four
do you know how much effort goes into achieving that and what it says about a person? def a much bigger deal to a college than state scioly medals and much much better than being a scioly captain or some local science fair
there’s a reason only 4% of scouts ever achieve their eagle
also i would say eagle palms should also go on here- roughly .5% of scouts will go on to earn a palm and it requires continued participation in leadership and earning additional merit badges etc
though it is a fair assessment to state that there are a lot of ‘paper eagles’ - kids who earn their eagle at the age of 13 or 14 (i got mine at 13 but simply through intensive involvement in the scouting program)
so i guess if you’re saying the eagle itself is nice but what really matters to make it a significant accomplishment is to have a career of service and involvement in the scouting program at many levels then you’ve probably made an accurate assessment
There is no score. What we classify here as a “5” might be more highly regarded than an “8” if the applicant who got the 5 does not have the resources that were available to most others.
This is simply an exercise in trying to categorize certain activities. Nothing more. I know RSI kids who were turned down at some top schools and kids who achieved no more than a three who got into HYPSM type schools. It all depends on circumstances and of course grades, essays and what others say about you. You can have a 9 on this chart and be denied everywhere because you are a viewed as a jerk or AOs think that you accomplished what you did only through privilege or parental help (i.e. your research project meshed with your parents occupations).
An AMC perfect score should be ~5, Siemens semifinalist is ~6/7, USACO silver should probably be bumped down to a 4, USABO + USAPhO (semifinalist, F=ma) are both about equal to AIME, and there is no USNCO semifinalist.
Does a “business” have to be a business? For example, if you hosted your school/county’s first hackathon (open to kids across the state/region, theme = hacking for social good) and it was a great success, would that be equally impressive?
Also, where would you rank Columbia’s SHP?
Does anyone know where Le Grand Concours (National French Contest) and UIL State Awards would be ranked? The National French Contest is a national test taken by french students that is the highest in its field and UIL is the University Interscholastic League, a bunch of competitions ranging from debate to science to accounting. UIL is only in Texas. Thanks!
State Boys/ girls State should be about a five, a major elected position at a boys/ girls state for a big state a 7, little state a 6. Boys/ girls nationals should be 8 or nine.
What about the presidential scholarship (candidate, semifinalist, and scholar)? Where would that be?
@studentathlete18 if you’re adding in boy’s/girl’s state, it’s gonna be at the same level/lower than Eagle Scout, they are relatively equivalent in terms of college admissions
Updates
10: Congrats
D1 athlete
IMO/IPHO/ICHO/IBO medals
Intel STS Top 10; Siemens Finalist; ISEF Top 3 Grand Prize; Google Science Fair age group winner
History Day National Winner
Single/First Author in High Impact Factor Journal
9: Almost a ticket to a prestigious school
Siemens Westinghouse finalists; Google Science Fair Finalist; MOP; Intel STS Finalist; ISEF Best of Category
FL Nationals winner
RSI (Research Science Institute)
Published in a relatively prestigious journal
8: Amazing accomplishment; Large boost
TASP, USPhO/USChO/USABO/USACO National Finalist
Google Science Fair Semifinalist; Siemens Semi-finalists; Intel ISEF 1st-4th place category; Intel STS semifinalist,
Running your own successful business
USAMO qualification
AMC 12 Perfect Score, Presidential Scholar, Davidson Fellow
Writing Portfolio Gold Award, Presidential Scholar of the Arts, Scholastic Art
FIRST Dean’s List winner, top 5 at FIRST World Championships,
Google Code Jam Round 2, 3 Qualifier (Vast majority of Competitors are College students and professionals)
Facebook Hacker Cup Round 2, 3 Qualifier (Vast majority of Competitors are College students and professionals)
MIT PRIMES Participant
7:
SSP, Simons, Clark Summer Program, NIH Research, and MITES and other selective programs
Science Olympiad national medals, EUCYS prizes
State governors schools with acceptance rate <15% (PGSS, NJGSS, most other science governor’s schools)
USACO Platinum Division
ARML Tiebreaker Round / Top Team, YES Competition (Young Epidemiology Scholarship), USAMTS Gold Medal
Intel ISEF Finalist, History Day National Level
Scholastic Art & Writing National Gold Medal. NFL Nationals (speech and debate) “breakers” (elimination rounds), Tournament of Champions (debate) “breakers,” Congressional Award Gold Medalist,
6:
USAPhO/USABO semifinals, Science Olympiad Nationals qualification
USACO Gold Division
AMC 10 Perfect Score
Less competitive governor’s schools (Acceptance rate between 15% and 25%), any other scholarship summer programs not aforementioned
Congressional Award Silver Medalist, NFL Nationals/Tournament of Champions Qualifier, FBLA Nationals
Science Bowl/Ocean Science Bowl/NAQT winners, Technology Student Association Nationals
FIRST Dean’s List finalist
Top 5 FIRST Super Regionals (FTC)
Scholastic Art & Writing National Silver Medal
(6.5) Google Code Jam Qualifier (Vast majority of Competitors are College students and professionals)
(6.5) Facebook Hacker Cup Qualifier (Vast majority of Competitors are College students and professionals)
5: Pretty good; will complement an already-strong record
USAAAO
USNCO semifinals
AIME
National Latin Convention 1st Places Academic Contests,
All-Eastern/all-regional music, State History Day top 3 place
Top 5 FIRST State Championship (or Regionals for FRC), JETS TEAMS National Finalist, Skills USA Nationals
State Science Fair Winner/Top Award
4:
USACO Silver Division
Science Fair Regional winner
Science Olympiad state medals (depending on what state you’re from)
Science Bowl national qualification
Perfect Score (Multiple Years) on National Latin Exam
State awards (all-state music, etc)
MUN Gavel
AMC 10/12 school winner (depends on your school)
Art and Writing Regional Gold award
top 5 FIRST Regional (FTC)
3: Some effort involved, but not uncommon
Winning at local/regional science fairs
All-County music,
Eagle Scout, National Merit Finalist
Head of a competitive club that you did not found (ex: Mock Trial, Model UN, Science Olympiad)
2: Your average go-getter
Bank of America Awards
Local awards/trophies
Essay Contests
Regional History Day
1 : Common activities
National Honor Society
Beta Club
School Departmental Awards
School Honor Roll
Key Club, CSF, Interact Club
National Merit Commended
Member of a club with no distinctions earned
0: A dime in a dozen; meaningless
Who’s Who, National Honor Roll, National Society of High School Scholars
Does anyone know where Le Grand Concours (National French Contest) and UIL State Awards would be ranked? The National French Contest is a national test taken by french students that is the highest in its field and UIL is the University Interscholastic League, a bunch of competitions ranging from debate to science to accounting. UIL is only in Texas. Thanks!
Hey y’all! So, a lot of people tell me that the congressional gold medal award is pretty much useless. However, it is ranked #7 on this list. Can someone tell me why? Thank you!
Oh and also do y’all happen to know how national HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) Competition Medals rank on this list? Thank you once again!
Should Science Olympiad Nationals qualification be on the list? I feel like that’s more dependent on what school you go to rather than a personal achievement.
Additionally, as someone who has participated in both, I feel like USACO Gold and AIME should be on the same tier, both because of difficulty and their functions in their respective olympiads, although I feel like they would be around a 5.5, so a bit of a toss-up I guess.
AIME qualification, I’d say, is at least on par with FBLA nationals, etc. Keep in mind that only the top 2.5% or 5% of participants are chosen, with the problems being very difficult.
Where would the Congressional Award rank?
I believe USACO Gold qualification is harder than making AIME. I personally know several multi-time AIME qualifiers (and even two USA(J)MO qualifiers) who have yet to get past the silver division.
Eh those people might study more for USAMO and AIME than USACO. I think it’s just relative to your strengths and interests @bdli44
Where does HMMT - Harvard MIT Math Tournament top 10 get placed in the ranking of achievements?