<p>Tigerdad,</p>
<p>You seem to be working from the belief that a nationally recognized award is the tipping point; what evidence do you have to base that conclusion on? The ivies reject on average 85% of their applicants; it’s likely that many of those rejected have state, regional and national level achievements but for a host of other reasons they were rejected - geography, too many from one school, sex, too many fencers that year etc. Would a nationally recognized award help your chances? Yes. But that doesn’t mean lacking such an award disqualifies you.</p>
<p>As for concentration, it strikes me that part of that answer depends on the area you intend on having your son study. If he is a nationally recognized oboist but isn’t going to pursue music, why would that award give him an advantage with an engineering program? Finally, the students-musicians-athletes who win these awards typically have both the talent and the passion for the subject matter. Hustle will be Talent when Talent doesn’t Hustle, but it’s not enough if Talent decides to put in the hours as well.</p>