List of Top, Prestigious Awards

^^Seconded!

why on earth is the ioi not included in the list of olympiad things? ioi >> ibo/icho, minimally. maybe more legit than the physics olympiad, too, but i’m reluctant to obliquely disparage myself and my physics team friends.

also, wrt to non-sciency contests, being good at debate can move mountains. i’d put making toc in ld or policy as at least a 7 or 8. if the ndr rankings weren’t defunct, being in the top 10 or 20 there would probably merit a 9 or something. winning nationals or the toc would definitely be a 10.

The gap between 4 and 3 is quite large.

I think anything above 5 can be viewed as a 10.

Maybe I’m biased, but All-state and All-regional music is a lot harder than it is placed here. The difference between all-county music and all-state music, at least where I’m from, is like the difference between being on the Honor Roll and having the highest GPA in your school’s history.

haha… Clendenenator, are you from New York? :stuck_out_tongue:

I agree with Clendenenator. I’m also unbiased, because I’ve always been too scared to try out for districts/all-states =)

Um, what about Teen Jeopardy finalist? :smiley:

International Minesweeper Expert Time Record Holder? :cool:

where would DECA state champion of New York (clarified because NY membership is significantly larger than almost all states) be placed. im thinking 4-5 range.

PaperCrane, yes I am from NY. I realize that making all-state in Delaware isn’t all that insane, but at the very least, all-eastern is very difficult across the board…it’s like a ticket into all mediocre music schools (and gives you at least a chance at the good ones).

Edit: I’m not a boy scout, but I used to be in 6th grade, and all-east, even all-state, is a lot more impressive than Eagle Scout, in my opinion.

hmmm…I think intel semi should be ranked lower because you have about a 30% of getting it as opposed to rsi and tasp which have around a 5% acceptance rate. There is no real difference between intel isef 1/2 place winners and intel 3/4 place. JSHS winners should also be included because there are only 2 per region, and 48 regions. National Honor Society should be 0. There are not that many people with perfect SAT/ ACT scores, so they should be higher. despite what many schools say, the acceptance rank for perfect scorers is much higher than for so-so scorers.

I do not agree with RSI and TASP being ranked higher because they are simply summer programs. Sure, some people who get in are amazing, but it is less about actually being at the program than what one does afterwards with the knowledge he/she has acquired. Moreover, TASP and RSI have different admissions criteria than colleges, with RSI being closer to a “mock admissions.”

JSHS should definitely be higher. By the way, how do I enter that?

SAT scores simply do not carry as much weight as the awards listed above them. A test can only measure so much in three hours; achieving some of those science/competition awards may take years of hard work.

11 - Dictator of the world, who can annul the below medals, making them all count for nothing
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, 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 - Perfect SAT scores, USPhO/USChO/USABO/USAMO/USACO semifinalist, Eagle Scout
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, National Merit Finalist, National AP Scholar AFTER Junior Year
4- Perfect Score (Multiple Years) on National Latin Exam, or other languages, AP Scholar, 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
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
-1 -
-2 -
-3 -
-4 - School suspension
-5 -
-6 -
-7 - Crack cocaine dealer
-8 - Imprisonment
-9 -
-10 - Belonging to a species other than Homo sapiens

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“Belonging to a species other than Homo sapiens”? I’d say that would be a BIG hook, and would guarantee admission to Harvard assuming you score decently on the SATs. Certainly adds to diversity.

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Since we’re assuming controlled SATs, GPAs, APs…

True. :stuck_out_tongue:

Though I’m sure that such organisms require totally different learning arrangements. Though elephants can hold paintbrushes with their trunks (it logically applies to pencils). The more pressing question: And what of teh dolphins?

USPhO/USChO/USABO/USAMO/USACO semifinalist - should these be higher than certain selective summer programs? i was under the impression that if you could get a 5 on the corresponding ap exam, you had a decent chance at semifinalist.

where does NBTC go?

oh and are these things stackable: i.e. ibo gold medalist + school suspension = 6?

LMAO… I dont know, but that’s certainly an interesting way to look at it!

“USPhO/USChO/USABO/USAMO/USACO semifinalist - should these be higher than certain selective summer programs? i was under the impression that if you could get a 5 on the corresponding ap exam, you had a decent chance at semifinalist.”

Are you crazy? Your impression is definitely wrong. AP Exams don’t even compare to these tests. Thousands of people get 5s on calculus and only a handful qualify for USAMO. The same goes with the other subjects.