Good examples of honors for the Common App?

Hey everyone! Can you guys give me some examples of honors that high school students typically list on the Common App? I don't want to make any mistakes when I start filling out my application. Thanks!

Of course! Honors typically fall into four categories: academic, extracurricular, athletic, and community-based. Here are some examples in each category:

Academic Honors:

1. National Honor Society or subject-specific honor societies (e.g., Mu Alpha Theta for math)

2. Advanced Placement (AP) Scholar awards (e.g., AP Scholar with Distinction)

3. National Merit Scholarships

4. High-school specific academic awards (e.g., honor roll, department awards, salutatorian, valedictorian)

5. Awards from local, regional, or national academic competitions (e.g., Science Olympiad, History Bee, or National History Day)

Extracurricular Honors:

1. School club leadership positions (e.g., president, vice-president, treasurer, or secretary)

2. Awards from state, regional, or national extracurricular competitions (e.g., DECA, Future Business Leaders of America, or Model United Nations)

3. Qualifying for a notable title in an out-of-school activity (e.g., Eagle Scout, black belt)

Athletic Honors:

1. Varsity letter or captainship

2. All-state or all-region team selections

3. MVP, MIP, or other team awards

4. Awards or records from state- or national-level competitions (e.g., Junior Olympics, setting a state record)

Community-based Honors:

1. Awards or recognition from local service organizations (e.g., Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club)

2. Service award directly from an organization (e.g., volunteer of the year at your local animal shelter)

3. Local or regional awards for community leadership and impact (e.g., winning the Youth Impact Award through the Mayoral Service Recognition Program)

Remember to only list honors that reflect genuine achievement. Plenty of students won't use all five slots, and that's okay. Colleges would rather see just three honors that they can tell you truly worked hard for, versus five but with two of them being included just to fill the space.

On the flip side, if you have more than five things that you want to include, remember that you may be able to incorporate some of them into your activities list descriptions instead. For tips on how to do so, I'd check out this blog post from CollegeVine: https://blog.collegevine.com/the-common-app-analyzed-4-successful-activity-entries-explained

Good luck with your applications!