Achievements before High School

Pre-College Topics Summer Programs
1

<p>On many summer applications they ask for some of your applications or your resume. My parents have kept a careful record of all my achievements since I was young. Some of these are very pointless while others are more significant like attending various cty summer programs and being in the top 30 ranked chess players in 4th grade (I quit right after reaching this pinnacle). What is the general rule for listing these achievements/ activities before high school? Can someone tell me which ones I should include or forgo? I know that some may seem tacky and old but they also show I have been interested in particular fields for awhile. I am applying for both science and volunteer oriented summer programs.</p>

<p>Here are a few examples:
8th grade:
1st place Region Future City Competition and winner of the “Best Communications” award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and “Best Teamwork” award from the Society of Military Engineers
“Best Project Team” Future City Competition National Finals in Washington D.C.
winner of school poetry contest
“Outstanding Performance” awards for Leadership, Community Service, and Scholarship from National Junior Honor Society
Attended Stanford University Educational Program for Gifted Youth summer program at Stanford University and studied “Java and Robotics”
Top science student award at middle school from a teacher
Benjamin Franklin Award (Scientist, Writer, Scholar) at middle school from a teacher</p>

<p>7th grade:
president and founder of first lego league at middle school</p>

<p>6th grade:
3rd place at state science fair
first place in district poetry contest</p>

<p>5th grade:
First Place in state, Quantitative Score for Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth’s 2005 Talent Search</p>

<p>4th grade:
27th highest chess rating for age level</p>

2

<p>achievements before high school are pretty much useless.</p>

3

<p>NspiredOne is correct. In addition, I have never heard of most of those awards and some people say CTY actually looks bad on your application since its really easy to get in and all you really need is the money.</p>

4

<p>CTY definitely will not look bad on your application… it obviously doesn’t add any prestige or anything.</p>

5

<p>I think certain achievements can be fine to put on…</p>

<p>For example, I won 1st at State and Best In Fair for Science Fair 6th and 7th grade, and I was sure to make a brief mention of it in my RSI app, just to show dedication to research and a record of achievement.</p>

<p>The other time you should include them is if they directly relate to your future plans; top awards in math or computer science could potentially be useful if you’re applying to a math or science field, especially if you have past (but basic) experience in a certain field, such as algorithms.</p>

6

<p>i disagree, 6th/6th grade science research is not real research… its mostly kids doing small experiments testing simple scientific mechanisms…</p>

7

<p>I think it is fine to include 1-2 things from middle school, but not many. They should either show a history in a particular area of achievement, first place in a statewide competition, or roughly top ten National/International level awards and accomplishments.</p>