Reboot-ish list of Ranked, Prestigious Awards.

Apollo11 · August 14, 2012, 11:35pm

THIS IS NOT A PUT-DOWN OR TROLL. This was a thread from a long time ago that I wanted to consolidate into another new thread as the old one went off course and was utterly confusing. This thread was created to rank competitions and awards in a 1-10 (10 is the highest) manner and I used/use it a lot, but it is hard to find, so here it is! Feel free to reply with supportive criticism or input on what should be added to the list!!!!!

*This is not my original work, the original thread was created by smder99 and featured various iterations. I also don’t mean offense to any one and hopefully don’t anger any of you. I am also willing to explain any of these programs and provide links if asked.

10 - D1 athlete, IMO/IPHO/ICHO/IBO medals, Intel (top 10), Siemens National Winner/National Finalists, ISEF top 3 Grand Prize, Published in Nature or Science

9 - Siemens Westinghouse (finalists), MOP, Intel Finalist, NFL Nationals winner (speech and debate), RSI

8 - TASP, USPhO/USChO/USABO/USACO national finalist, Siemens Semi-finalists/ISEF(1-4 places), Intel semifinalist, Running your own successful business, AMC Perfect Score, Presidential Scholar, Davidson Fellow, Presidential Scholar of the Arts, Scholastic Art & Writing Portfolio Gold Award

7 - Selective summer programs or competitions, such as SSP, Clark Summer Program, YESS, NIH Research, and MITES. USAMO qualification, ARML Tiebreaker Round / Top Team, Scholastic Art & Writing National Silver or Gold Medal. NFL Nationals qualifier (speech and debate), Congressional Award Gold Medalist, USAMTS Gold Medal, YES Competition (Young Epidemiology Scholarship) Top 4, Science Bowl/Ocean Science Bowl/NAQT winners, MATHCOUNTS top 12 sprint/countdown round,State AP Scholar (as junior or even sophomore, requires about 15-20 AP’s that average a 4-5)

6 - USPhO/USChO/USABO/USACO semifinalist, Science Olympiad National medals, Congressional Award Silver Medalist USAMTS Silver, MATHCOUNTS Nationals, First Robotics National Championship, State Athletic Championship (Texas, California, etc.)

5 - National Latin Convention 1st Places Academic Contests, All-Eastern/all-regional music, National History Day winner, AIME qualification, Science Bowl national qualification, National AP Scholar (as a junior or sophomore)

4- Perfect Score (Multiple Years) on National Latin Exam, or other languages, some state awards (all-state music, etc), Science Olympiad state medals (depending on what state you're from), National History Day, JETS TEAMS National Finalist or Regional winner, MUN Gavel, AMC 10/12 school winner, Eagle Scout

3 - All-County music, winning at local/regional science fairs, National Merit, Rensselaer Medalist

2 - Bank of America Awards, most local awards/trophies (art, music, community - although they will say something about your character), Essay Contests, State History Day

1 - National Honor Society, Beta Club, School Departmental Awards, School Honor Roll, Key Club, CSF, Interact Club

0 - Who's Who, National Honor Roll, National Society of High School Scholars

BTW How do you bold?

ATPmolecule · August 15, 2012, 1:11am

What about my friend getting on Jeopardy? Where do you put that? O.o

rspence · August 15, 2012, 2:16am

I have a few awards/honors in the 7-8 range. However, the one year I got a perfect score on AMC10 was the year that that AMC was extremely easy and dozens of students got perfect scores. I know several IMO medalists, as well as Evan O’Dorney (who won Intel STS a couple years ago). I almost made red MOP, but I screwed up USAMO problem 5 :(

In my opinion, the list is a little one-sided towards science/math awards. But it’s a good list overall. Just shows you that having a bunch of 1’s and 2’s won’t easily gain acceptance into prestigious schools.

Edit: Also, I think MATHCOUNTS top 12 should be at roughly the same level as AMC perfect score.

tangentline · August 15, 2012, 3:28am

Science Olympiad nationals. Too bad my school has had people who are capable of beating the national champions at certain events (they actually did at the state competition) with their high scores on tests and building projects; just that the whole team has to make it to nationals to count. It’s against the same school that always qualifies for both that and the Science Bowl nationals (they’ve won nationals before too) for the past many years…

Apollo11 · August 15, 2012, 6:26am

@ATP Getting on to Teen Jeopardy is challenging, but not as much work/competition as some of the higher level ones, so a 4-5 is good (I’ll make it a 5 out of bias)

@rspence yeah you are right about mathcounts, idk why it was so low to begin with…
Also, congrats about your awards!!! Lastly, yes there are way more math/science than humanities/art/athletics, but I think there are a few sprinkled in of humanities/art/athletics. However, I’d love to hear more about such competitions!

@tangentline Check the 6. However, you bring up a good point about the qualifiying shenanigans. I can only imagine how the big states like California, New York and Texas have their system set up.

Apollo11 · August 15, 2012, 6:31am

REVISED LIST:

10 - D1 athlete, IMO/IPHO/ICHO/IBO medals, Intel (top 10), Siemens National Winner/National Finalists, ISEF top 3 Grand Prize, Published in Nature or Science

9 - Siemens Westinghouse (finalists), MOP, Intel Finalist, NFL Nationals winner (speech and debate), RSI

8 - TASP, USPhO/USChO/USABO/USACO national finalist, Siemens Semi-finalists/ISEF(1-4 places), Intel semifinalist, Running your own successful business, AMC Perfect Score, Presidential Scholar, Davidson Fellow, Presidential Scholar of the Arts, Scholastic Art & Writing Portfolio Gold Award, MATHCOUNTS top 12 sprint/countdown round,State AP Scholar (as junior or even sophomore, requires about 15-20 AP’s that average a 4-5)

7 - Selective summer programs or competitions, such as SSP, Clark Summer Program, YESS, NIH Research, and MITES. USAMO qualification, ARML Tiebreaker Round / Top Team, Scholastic Art & Writing National Silver or Gold Medal. NFL Nationals qualifier (speech and debate), Congressional Award Gold Medalist, USAMTS Gold Medal, Science Bowl/Ocean Science Bowl/NAQT winners,

6 - USPhO/USChO/USABO/USACO semifinalist, Science Olympiad National medals, Congressional Award Silver Medalist USAMTS Silver, MATHCOUNTS Nationals, First Robotics National Championship, State Athletic Championship (Texas, California, etc.)

5 - National Latin Convention 1st Places Academic Contests, All-Eastern/all-regional music, National History Day winner, AIME qualification, Science Bowl national qualification, National AP Scholar (as a junior or sophomore)

4- Perfect Score (Multiple Years) on National Latin Exam, or other languages, some state awards (all-state music, etc), Science Olympiad state medals (depending on what state you’re from), National History Day, JETS TEAMS National Finalist or Regional winner, MUN Gavel, AMC 10/12 school winner, Teen Jeopardy, Eagle Scout, National Merit

3 - All-County music, winning at local/regional science fairs, Rensselaer Medalist, State Science Fair, City Athletics Champion (If city is >100,000)

2 - Bank of America Awards, most local awards/trophies (art, music, community - although they will say something about your character), Essay Contests, State History Day

1 - National Honor Society, Beta Club, School Departmental Awards, School Honor Roll, Key Club, CSF, Interact Club

0 - Who’s Who, National Honor Roll, National Society of High School Scholars

Changle Log (IDK how to bold, someone help please!):
*Changed MATHCOUNTS top 12 sprint/countdown round and State AP Scholar to an 8
*Took out Young Epidemilogist Scholars (YES Program) as it was cancelled. It was formerly a 7.
*Added Teen Jeopardy as 4 (The other 5’s are stronger, sorry ATP)
*Moved National Merit from 3 to a 4
*Added State Science Fair
*Added City (Athletic) Championship

Does anyone know about band competitions or any other EC competitions that I have left out?

Thanks!

flower161 · August 15, 2012, 6:48am

where would the president’s volunteer service award be placed?

Apollo11 · August 15, 2012, 6:51am

I have the Congressional Gold Medal at 7, so I’d give the President’s Volunteer Service Award a 6 for being prestigious, but less than that of the Congressional Gold Medal. Also, 6 isn’t bad, many top programs are there, but the higher you go, the harder it is to justify the leap.

Apollo11 · August 15, 2012, 6:52am

REVISED LIST:

10 - D1 athlete, IMO/IPHO/ICHO/IBO medals, Intel (top 10), Siemens National Winner/National Finalists, ISEF top 3 Grand Prize, Published in Nature or Science

9 - Siemens Westinghouse (finalists), MOP, Intel Finalist, NFL Nationals winner (speech and debate), RSI

8 - TASP, USPhO/USChO/USABO/USACO national finalist, Siemens Semi-finalists/ISEF(1-4 places), Intel semifinalist, Running your own successful business, AMC Perfect Score, Presidential Scholar, Davidson Fellow, Presidential Scholar of the Arts, Scholastic Art & Writing Portfolio Gold Award, MATHCOUNTS top 12 sprint/countdown round,State AP Scholar (as junior or even sophomore, requires about 15-20 AP’s that average a 4-5)

7 - Selective summer programs or competitions, such as SSP, Clark Summer Program, YESS, NIH Research, and MITES. USAMO qualification, ARML Tiebreaker Round / Top Team, Scholastic Art & Writing National Silver or Gold Medal. NFL Nationals qualifier (speech and debate), Congressional Award Gold Medalist, USAMTS Gold Medal, Science Bowl/Ocean Science Bowl/NAQT winners,

6 - USPhO/USChO/USABO/USACO semifinalist, Science Olympiad National medals, Congressional Award Silver Medalist USAMTS Silver, MATHCOUNTS Nationals, First Robotics National Championship, State Athletic Championship (Texas, California, etc.), President’s Service Award

5 - National Latin Convention 1st Places Academic Contests, All-Eastern/all-regional music, National History Day winner, AIME qualification, Science Bowl national qualification, National AP Scholar (as a junior or sophomore)

4- Perfect Score (Multiple Years) on National Latin Exam, or other languages, some state awards (all-state music, etc), Science Olympiad state medals (depending on what state you’re from), National History Day, JETS TEAMS National Finalist or Regional winner, MUN Gavel, AMC 10/12 school winner, Teen Jeopardy, Eagle Scout, National Merit

3 - All-County music, winning at local/regional science fairs, Rensselaer Medalist, State Science Fair, City Athletics Champion (If city is >100,000)

2 - Bank of America Awards, most local awards/trophies (art, music, community - although they will say something about your character), Essay Contests, State History Day

1 - National Honor Society, Beta Club, School Departmental Awards, School Honor Roll, Key Club, CSF, Interact Club

0 - Who’s Who, National Honor Roll, National Society of High School Scholars

Changle Log (IDK how to bold, someone help please!):

*Added President’s Service Award to 6

stemit · August 15, 2012, 8:54am

Great effort. How many students receive each award (ignore D1 athletes (they make up a separate category and don’t really compete for the same places in a school as a typical applicant))?

There are 10 Intel STS finalists, three top grand award winners (category 10); 40 STS finalists (category 9); 300 STS semi-finalists (I think) (8); roughly 400 intel ISEF grand award winners (8 - although those can be further divided as of those 400, 34 were first place awards).

As the list goes to 0, getting an exact number may get more difficult, but even an educated estimate would help. For example, state science fairs may yield several thousand first place awards, but having an estimate may help some applicants to “chance” themselves more realistically.

Also, for those looking at this list, realize that some recipients are not yet applying to schools (e.g., the grand winner of ISEF isn’t even a senior); and there may be students who are in multiple spots (several ISEf grand winners were top 10 in STS).

One additional science comp is Google’s. Where would you put that?

Apollo11 · August 15, 2012, 9:17am

Acceptance size doesn’t always lead to prestige. The same number of people win IMO medals as they do at the NFL (Debate) nationals. However, IMO is more prestigious. However, I like your talk of chancing each competition. I’ll try and get to it. Also, whcih Google science comp? Google Code Jam, Google Science Fair etc. (However, both are very prestigious

stemit · August 15, 2012, 9:23am

I confess my ignorance of which Google event; but I recently saw a CNN article on the HS rising senior who won. Agreed, that the number of winners doesn’t really have anything to do with the ranking on the list (e.g., there are probably more D1 athletes than state science fair winners). But the gross numbers may make it easier for a prospective applicant to figure out where they stand in the enormous applicant pool.

Cordycepin · August 15, 2012, 10:06am

Other science competitions include (but are not limited to): Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) and the International BioGENEius Challenge. Not sure where they place on the list but they are definitely worth mentioning.

wmurphy126 · August 15, 2012, 10:18am

When you say getting published, do you mean as first name published? I think being first name published on a paper would merit a ten, but there are also other kinds of publishing that are still significant but not as prestigious. (ie, second name etc etc). Not really sure where those would rank though, probably still relatively high.

Apollo11 · August 15, 2012, 11:17am

@Cordycepin You can just copy and paste the list and add modification if you find something like that as I try to post frequently here, but it is hard to match the pace. Also, I’d say both would merit a solid 4-6 range.

@wmurphy126 I mean like having a research paper or puplished composition in a top magazine or journal. I understand other publishing feats would merit here, like having a book published or editing and writing an article for a large newspaper. Like I said to Cordy, try and rank it by yourself and then add it too the list, but don’t forget to mark your changes in a change log!

I’m so glad that people can now see this thread and I hope the whole community can add different competitions and programs to benefit all of the current and future CC’ers out there.

stemit · August 15, 2012, 11:37am

REVISED LIST:

10 - D1 athlete, IMO/IPHO/ICHO/IBO medals, Intel (top 10) (10), Siemens National Winner/National Finalists (20 winners - including teams), ISEF top 3 Grand Prize (3 winners), Published in Nature or Science

9 - Siemens Westinghouse (finalists) (app. 80), MOP, Intel Finalist (40), NFL Nationals winner (speech and debate)(1; but another 13ish ranked), RSI

8 - TASP, USPhO/USChO/USABO/USACO national finalist, Siemens Semi-finalists/ISEF(1-4 places)( ISEF approx. 400 of which 34 finished 1st), Intel semifinalist (300?), Running your own successful business, AMC Perfect Score, Presidential Scholar, Davidson Fellow, Presidential Scholar of the Arts, Scholastic Art & Writing Portfolio Gold Award, MATHCOUNTS top 12 sprint/countdown round,State AP Scholar (as junior or even sophomore, requires about 15-20 AP’s that average a 4-5)