<p>When I was 12, I won the national spelling bee. </p>
<p>Is there anywhere on the common application (Honors?) I can mention this? Because it was kind of a big deal and I'm having trouble just casually dropping it into my essay.</p>
<p>As a general rule, do not mention anything before high school. It won’t help you. Something like this would go in the honors section but since it is not during high school I would not mention it, as important as it may be to you.</p>
<p>Wow, that’s really rare! It is true that there isn’t a place for accomplishments prior to high school. Still, I would probably put this in the additional info section if you aren’t mentioning it in your essays. If you are submitting a resume you can include it there (but most people don’t submit that)</p>
<p>200x - Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion</p>
<p>(or whatever the title is that they give you</p>
<p>As a parent of a regional winner in the Bee a few years back, I wholeheartedly encourage you to find some place on your application to mention this!!!
So what if you did this before high school?
Few people who haven’t been to the Washington DC/televised ESPN level realize the rigor of your achievement.</p>
<p>So yes - absolutely find a blank to fill that in on.
IMHO any Scripps Spelling Bee winner has already demonstrated their genius and should get lots of attention for it.
See if you can get Jacques Bailley to write you a letter of rec for the win! Haha</p>
<p>DaddyC</p>
<p>(Hat tip to you!)</p>
<p>You can and should mention this! In common app, include it in the Additional Information Section.</p>
<p>There is, as Truust said, a general rule that you don’t mention awards, honors or accomplishments from before high school. </p>
<p>This is an exception to that rule.</p>
<p>Yeah… I read through his post really quickly and didn’t see the “national” part (just looked at the title basically). I assumed it was some kind of regional spelling bee which wasn’t worth mentioning.</p>
<p>This definitely is. My bad.</p>
<p>I mean, I don’t think it allows RedCapedWonder to write his or her own ticket. Colleges don’t need a National Spelling Bee champion the way they need linebackers, point guards and wealthy donors. But this one really is a significant enough middle-school accomplishment that it’s worth putting on college applications.</p>
<p>Seems like this could be something you work into your essay(s) – it undoubtedly had a significant impact on your development, both in preparing for the national competition and in dealing with the publicity afterwards. Absolutely make this a big part of your app – it demonstrates maturity, focus, etc. – all necessary skills for college success. </p>
<p>Good luck in your apps.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Absolutely not true! This is not just a spelling bee . . . it’s the spelling bee and is absolutely worth mentioning. (I’d put it in the “Additional Info” section - you certainly don’t have to make it the focus of your essay.)</p>
<p>And Loricg, if you want to compare this accomplishment to winning a beauty pageant, then the pageant you’d probably want to compare it to is the “Miss America” pageant. Winning the national spelling bee is a big deal!</p>
<p>ITA with dodgersmom.</p>
<p>If your essay is build around NSB, should you still mention that in the additional info? In Essay I may not want to boast about the rank etc if the context doesn’t call for it. Mentioning in additional info section should tell them your honor rank, accomplishment. What do you think?</p>
<p>I definitely agree that writing about a childhood experience as intense as preparing for and winning the National Spelling Bee would make a killer college essay!</p>
<p>All the study of etymology, word lists, etc (think “Akela and the Bee”) and the maturity and drive that it brought out in you at a young age would make for interesting and memorable reading.</p>
<p>The goal: To make yourself unforgettable!</p>
<p>(As an aside, my favorite spelling bee moment was when the kid was asked to spell “numnah” and he misheard and repeated "numb nut?). Haha!</p>
<p>-DaddyC</p>
<p>Anybody who says this is not a worthy accomplishment simply doesn’t realize the absolute WORK that goes into becoming the NATIONAL champ. That’s insane. Definitely put it on the app.</p>
<p>Come on, there’s only what? 13-14 people who can say they’ve done that since 2000.</p>
<p>Definitely noteworthy.</p>
<p>Wow, that’s an amazing accomplishment! You should definitely mention it in the additional info section.</p>
<p>Just put it in the add’l info the way I showed you. Add a sentence or two if you want. You can include it in your essay or not. You don’t have to make your essay about it if you have something else you want to use, or if, as you mentioned, to shoe horn it in would be forcing it.</p>
<p>How cool we have a Spelling Bee champ on CC!</p>
<p>As someone said, this is an exception situation and you want to be known. Now that the Bee is televised and since the documentary ‘Spellbound’, I think a great number of people appreciate the hard work and total dedication that goes into competing.</p>
<p>I believe the OP won Pakistan’s national spelling bee, not the Scripps. I agree with Brown Parent. This is an accomplishment worth putting in the application and it can go in the additional information section.</p>