<p>i've heard that the National Merit awards aren't all that prestigious because like 15,000 people get them every year. so what exactly would be considered a good award? might be a stupid question but im kind of confused...</p>
<p>Yeah, I was wondering that too.
Aside from some county-wide math awards, I don't really have any significant awards/prizes (aside from National Merit).. For most of you accepted to Ivies, did you have many nice awards on your transcript? Will my chances be majorly affected if I haven't garnered any state or national recognition?</p>
<p>Would scholarships and essay contests be considered awards that you can put on your college application?</p>
<p>I too started a thread about this and have yet to hear a good response...</p>
<p>Ishkabob, that seems to be the implicit truth; however, I think most (including myself) are confused about exactly which awards are most prestigious/best. So yes, if I were you, I would definitely put down any essay contests. Have you applied/done well at any so far?</p>
<p>The only one I really know about is the "Scholastic" awards, though I'm not sure how legitimate it is.</p>
<p>yea im def going to apply to scholarships & essays and other than the college board stuff (national merit, ap scholar) those will probly be my only academic awards since my school doesnt have the dean's list, honor roll or any of that stuff...</p>
<p>For debaters: What are the criteria for evaluating debate experience? Do you have to win a tournament to get points? What about speaker awards? Do TOC bids play a role?</p>
<p>Science Fair, History Fair, etc.</p>
<p>As far as I know, "The international olympiad" is the most prestigious academic award worldwide for high school students. I don't know exactly how you Americans select your Olympia teams, but in my country, one who advances to the national contest (which used for selection our Olympiad teams) will automatically qualified for admission to any college in the country.
There are people who got full ride to top US colleges (HYPMS) virtually for their achievements in "The international olympiad" regardless of other factors.</p>
<p>too bad there is not history/humanity type olympiad.</p>
<p>I guess history/humanity is too broad a subject to be in the Olympiad.</p>
<p>what would be the closest thing to a history/humanity olympiad?</p>
<p>"There are people who got full ride to top US colleges (HYPMS) virtually for their achievements in "The international olympiad" regardless of other factors."</p>
<p>All of the ivies only give out need-based aid along with many of the other top colleges.</p>