My question was inspired by another thread from a parent whose kid has done unexpectedly poorly on the AP’s and I asked whether it could possibly be better to leave an entire section empty as if the kid simply missed it instead of listing just a couple of 3’s.
I didn’t want to hi-jack that thread, so starting a new one - for tippy-top schools, is it better to list a few mediocre awards or leave the entire section blank? My D absolutely refuses to participate in any competitions unless they are school-mandated (she makes exception only for Mock Trial, but her team is rather weak, no awards there). While she may not have gotten any national awards for her writing and artwork anyway, she won’t even try. So the only awards she has so far are a Gold for Level 3 National Spanish Exam (school-mandated) and some school Math Achievement award that might have been given more for dedication than aptitude (math is not her favorite subject, but she does seem to work harder in it to compensate for her weakness). She might also get a school community service award if she submits her volunteer records (again, she sees no value in that), but other than that, there is only a chance at NMF or NMSF if she nails PSAT this coming fall.
So given that her awards are mediocre compared to state/national champs in so many areas, are they even worth listing (unless she miraculously gets a NMF, of course) in the awards section or better to leave it blank? Thanks!