<p>National awards are invaluable when it comes to college admissions, but how much are your chances hurt if you don't have them?</p>
<p>For example, I come from a small town where we have essentially no high-tech research institution (save for a few local hospitals and clinics) and a very lame college. The closest city with proper research equipment is almost an hour away, making transportation to do a research project extremely pricey and time-consuming.</p>
<p>Even if you have an excellent GPA, top scores, as well as a variety of extra-curricular activities, does a lack of these awards make you extremely less desirable to Ivy colleges? I'm sure they receive plenty of applications from the top small-town students but after looking through the threads of applicants who were accepted/denied at Ivies like Harvard and Yale, I'm feeling a little less confident :( I do realize there are writing competitions out there, as well as the usual FBLA and club competitions, but I only have state awards for them. :/</p>