The downside of honors

calmom
Mon, 22 May 2006 04:26:46 +0000

The point is, my daughter didn’t have awards or honors and she got into excellent colleges. She provided detailed information about her primary EC which clearly demonstrated her depth of involvement. Most of the colleges did not have a separate section on the application form for “awards” - but for those that did, the area simply was left blank.

To get into a competitive college the student needs:
a) Excellent grades
b) Very good test scores
c) A strong college prep curriculum
d) Personal factors, such as ec’s, to differentiate the applicant from the others.

There are many different ways to approach the 4th category. My personal view is that the applicant has a story to tell, and the way to tell the story depends on what the story is. You figure out the story first. Awards are a short-cut way of demonstrating achievement or commitment, but certainly not the only way.