My S26 has 4 spots filled already, and we are not so sure which one can be the 5th award. His interest is political science/public policy/economics. Even all of them kind of mid, but still, we can choose one of them.
AP scholar with distinction would be the first one to be eliminated.
S26 likes Seal of Biliteracy. My thought is that this can be reflected by his AP Chinese (5), and currently taking AP Spanish, thus it may seem to be redundant.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Seal of Biliteracy in Chinese and Spanish, Grade 11 | Level: State
FBLA 5th Place in Public Policy and Advocacy, qualified for State, Grade 11 | Level: Regional
Scholastic Art & Writing Silver Key (Poetry),*Grade: 11 | Level: Regional
NMSC commended
AP scholar with distinction
FWIW, we’ve been using both the activities and the honors section as a way to signal what’s important to D26. So, an award she got at her regional science fair is number one because it meant a lot to her whereas a national award went second. I’m not sure this is helpful for you, but I’d pick purely on what’s important to your S and let that act as a signal. If he likes seal of biliteracy, I might go with that.
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That is a good thought. Thanks
My daughter also has commended and AP Scholar with distinction and she isn’t using them. I agree that AP scholar is the first to go because presumably you have the opportunity to self report those scores elsewhere so if a college cares about it they already have seen it. Commended I think is hated on a bit harshly- most kids not on CC would still love to have scores in that range. But again, if he has similar SAT or ACT scores it isn’t really signaling anything new (though I’d absolutely use it if there wasn’t anything else).
I think the Biliteracy Seal is interesting so I wouldn’t hesitate for him to use it if that is what he wants.
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Whichever isn’t obvious. AP Scholar with Distinction, as an example, says nothing they don’t already know.
If they had 8 APs, and are submitting the scores, that’s what matters. Not that AP gave you recognition to make you feel good.
In general, I don’t think awards, short of some ground breaking thing, matter. The kid in band or on a sport team or collecting shopping carts in the parking lot at Kroger likely isn’t getting an award. My kid got many dogs at the shelter adopted but no award. I think what you do matters - promoted to first chair, helped 9 dogs find a first home, etc matters.
But if I was choosing one, I’d choose - which isn’t obvious by the action in my activity. NMF commended means little - you have an SAT/ACT - unless NM is getting you a scholarship, your PSAT is irrelevant. AP Scholar - meaningless.
That’s my school of thought anyway. Unless you’re some kind of unbelievable talent, like Olympic Medalist, I’m guessing they mean little.