Hypothetical situation:
Place 1st in your region (county/district) for a math competition or science competition
Place 10th in your state for a math competition or science competition
Place 11th in your nation for a math competition or science competition
Assuming you could only put one on your college app, which would you choose and why?
Place 11th in the nation.
The national accomplishment is much more impressive in both your perspective and others’ perspectives. That’s a no-brainer for me. Look at that new show on Lifetime, Child Genius. That’s a nationwide competition run by MENSA and even if the kid went home on the first day, I bet he’ll put it on his college app one day.
He probably won first at some region or state competition because he’s a child genius, but nothing can trump competing at a national level.
@TheDidactic There’s no space on the common app to put awards before high school.
11th in nation, no brainer.
11th in nation.
Top universities WANT to see national rankings and competitions. It’s worth more “value points” than other awards. In addition, if you rank 1st regionally, you should move on to State, at least, right?
On your app, it’d look like this:
Awesome Math Competition, 2015: National 11th place, (1st place regional, 3rd place State)
or
Terrific Ukulele Competition, 2015: 9th place in State (1st in region)
Well since there are 50 states then it’d be assumed that you are (very very roughly) 50th in the nation. There is no way that beats being 11th in the nation.
The kids on Child Genus will have something else to write about on their college application. That would be an essay about surviving child abuse-which was witnessed by viewers of reality TV. Of course it won’t be a unique essay if they happen to apply to college at the very same time as the girls on “Dance Moms”.