Is the National Congressional award considered to be prestigious? Like the Gold Medal or Silver Medal??? I heard from many sources that it looks great on college apps and its superr prestigious but I just wanted to get some more opinions? I want to do it really badly, but I want to do something that will also help with my future. So can anyone tell me if it is super prestigious or not? Thanks!
There are only 267 nationwide so it appears so…Also all the community service you have to do to get it will be well worth it in life and on your application.
Thank you! Yes, I do a lot of community service! So you think its worth going for? @bopper
I think it is worth your while, especially if you are going for the Silver of Gold Medal. Bear in mind that the hours you spend have to be spread out over 12 months for Silver and 24 months for Gold. Not sure what year of school you’re in, but that might have a bearing on which level you can attain before you apply to colleges in the Fall of your Senior year. If you’re going to do it, register TODAY as you can only count hours that you do once you’ve registered (easy online registration and small fee). Ideally, you should submit your Record Book (apply for whatever level of CA you’re going for) by around Summer before Senior year. This gives them time to review your CA application and get back to you and allows for some time for you to complete any additional requirements that they’ll sometimes ask you to do and re-submit and still hear back with a final answer by the time you’re sending in college apps Fall of Senior year. Hope this helps!
This has recently been discussed:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1807139-congressional-award.html#latest
The Congressional Award basically tracks hours devoted to public service, physical fitness, and personal development (arts, music, etc.), plus a 1 time exploration/expedition event. It’s similar to the Duke of Edinburgh award. The award levels correspond to the number of hours and duration of involvement. I personally think the main value of the award is in documenting your level of participation and commitment in 3 broad areas. Gold Medal recipients have 400+ hours of logged volunteer service, and there will be no question about their having put in the time. Meeting the required hours for someone who does music/art plus a sport isn’t that hard.
I doubt the award itself carries a lot of weight apart from participation in the component ECs, but it doesn’t hurt, and it’s a great way of documenting your commitment.