What are some competitions that a high school freshman can enter that will look good on future college applications? It doesn’t necessarily have to have a monetary prize, just a good amount of recognition that will stand out on a college application. Preferably, the competition would have no entrance fee.
Do it because you think it will be fun or challenging, not because you think someone else wants you to do it.
Competitions aren’t the only way to get “recognized”. And doing competitions solely to get recognition for colleges is pointless. You should be doing things that are of interest to YOU. If there is a competition related to those interests…fine. If not…fine. Many, many students enroll in colleges every year without doing competitions.
What are your interests? Start there. Maybe someone here can point you in the right direction based on what actually interests you.