I see on some of these results and chance forums that people put down that they have “national awards” and things of that matter. What qualifies someone to get these awards and how to sign up/register to get them? I know there’s like “AP Scholar” when you do well on AP exams but what other awards would look good on college apps?
Intel, Siemens, etc.
The national awards, as @qpqpqp says, are the real prestigious awards that you would have to be a supergenius in your desired field to win. Whether that field be writing, science, math, computers, etc. if you compete at a national level against other kids from all over the country and you win an award, you can consider it a national award.
AP Scholar doesn’t count because a lot of people can receive that award. National awards are something unique that only a certain amount of people have won.
Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, if you’re artistically inclined
There are important and less important awards at all levels. There are national AP Scholars which are actually easier than AP scholars of a state. AP scholars should be considered National level, but it is just not really that competitive.