<p>My S is prioritizing his items in the “honors” section of the Common App and we are wondering about putting on that he is a DYS. Do most adcomms know about this organization/designation? He was putting his items in the order of National, State and then Local. DYS would be at the top because it is prestigious/National but I would hate to give up that spot if most colleges don’t know what it is. </p>
<p>Anyone have experience with this?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Okay, I’ll bite: what’s a DYS? I would have thought, if you’re not sure that colleges know what it is, that you’d spell it out here. Maybe you’re looking for replies only from those with the secret decoder ring :-)</p>
<p>Sorry, it means Davidson Young Scholar. It is from the Davidson Institute for Talent Development.</p>
<p>I don’t know how well known DYS is, but what my son will probably be doing is to NOT put them in National/State/Local order. For example, he has been part of Columbia’s Science Honors Program (SHP). That is a regional honor (I guess it’s Tri-State, but a participant has to be able to get to Columbia on Saturdays when school is in session). He is “prouder” of that than he is of being a National AP Scholar, which is by definition National. So, SHP comes first.</p>
<p>If it were me/us, I think we would list it in first place, but spelled out. Even Google had a difficult time resolving the acronym (it was probably buried in the middle of all of the Department of Youth Services). :-)</p>
<p>Good suggestion about the way to order them. I will suggest he rethink the positioning. It looks like right now he has it all spelled out and not the acronym but there isn’t much room for any sort of explanation. I guess that will just have to suffice and if they are curious enough they will look it up! 
Doesn’t hurt to have a little mystery right???</p>
<p>Congratulations on the Science Honors Program - sounds like a great opportunity!</p>
<p>I hope someone who knows more about the process chimes in, but my very amateur impression is that Adcoms at very selective schools know about many honors and what they signify. </p>
<p>There are quite tough criteria for admission to DYS. I would be inclined to highlight it, especially if it was a meaningful experience for him.</p>
<p>Yes, we definitely want to highlight it - the question is where…</p>
<p>Does your son have a good guidance counselor?</p>
<p>Davidson Young Scholars is a very good honor, and you should certainly highlight it on your honors page</p>
<p>Um can I answer that in May? Haha! She is new but seems to be willing to help. Just difficult to get ahold of sometimes…</p>
<p>I agree it is definitely a very good honor, I just wish there was more space to give details. That is why I was curious if it is generally a well-known organization on the college adm. circuit.</p>
<p>The Davidson institute is well known, as it’s Fellows program rivals Siemens and Intel, but is broader, not just science. Go on the Harvard college forum and you’ll see an entire thread dedicated just to Davidson Fellows. I know the scholars program isn’t the same as the fellowship, but I would believe both are well known among adcom circles.</p>