<p>Simple question:</p>
<p>How good does a NFAA award look?</p>
<p>I think an NFAA award is a very positive award on an applicant’s resume. It is a national award amongst a national talent pool in one’s area of the arts. If you achieve a Merit Award, then you scored in the top 10%, an Honorable Mention in the top 5% and a Finalist is in the top 1%. While not every talented kid in the country has entered this award program, certainly a large number of talented kids, many who are contemplating/applying to the well regarded college programs in your field, are among those who entered the NFAA competition. Thus, to win an award, demonstrates being in an upper echelon of talent nationally in a very talented pool of applicants. College programs recognize this award and are aware of it. It is not like it is going to get you INTO college but it is always a very positive thing to be able to show achievements. Some achievements are not awards with names. Some achievements are on a school level. Some are on a regional level, some on a state level and NFAA is on a national level. So, NFAA would be considered a “higher” level achievement than say, a school based award. The talent pool is much different. </p>
<p>That said, in my opinion, winning an NFAA award has benefits beyond how it would “look for colleges.” As an applicant to college, winning an NFAA award is like a benchmark or indicator that you are competitive in the applicant pool with other kids across the country in your arts field and thus, have a very decent chance, when “competing” for spots in a very selective college program in that arts field, to be “in the running.” That’s how I see it having had a child win an NFAA Arts Award. She is now in college but still maintains this award on her theatrical resume.</p>
<p>I received a Regional Award in visual arts for being one of the quote “most accomplished artists who participated in youngARTS 2008 from New York City.”</p>
<p>That being said, i also won National Merit Award</p>
<p>This is what they wrote</p>
<p>“This is an extraordinary achievement of which you can be very proud. You have been selected from over 8,000 national youngARTS applicants. As a National Merit Award winner, you have placed in the top 5% of the 2008 youngARTS national participant group. As a Regional Award Winner, you were among the top participants from New York City.”</p>
<p>im disappointed. i really wanted to go to youngARTS week in miami :(</p>
<p>I also am a Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Scholar (summer program that selects only 60 junior artists nationwide each year) – being a Marie Walsh Sharpe Scholar put me automatically in intermediate round of judging for NFAA</p>
<p>I found out about the program a day before the registration amidst an already busy schedule. I really didn’t have any time to prepare and spent most of my time figuring out how I was going to record my materials. Needless to say, I was very disappointed with the final product and had to reluctantly send it in. I was shocked when I got the letter because, frankly, my video was nowhere near my best work. </p>
<p>Thanks for your input guys, I really appreciate the info!</p>
<p>what did u win? and in what category?</p>
<p>Just the Merit Award (the lowest possible award) in spoken theatre.</p>
<p>Hey, makeyourself22, don’t put a Merit Award down! That’s amazing. Congrats!</p>
<p>btw, lowest possible is regional award</p>