Does national merit commended student count as natl or state?
So in the honors section of the commonapp, would I list national merit commended student as a national or state level award. I know that it has national in the name, but aren't I competing with students in my state for that? Also if I received the award my senior year but took the test in my junior year, should I list it as 11th or 12th grade?
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3 answers
So AOs (admission officers) don’t really care what the category is asking as the award is accurately described. Also the award should be dated to when you won it not when you received it. Personally, I’d put it as National as it is done by an national organization that awards the honor on a per state level. Though as I said it doesn’t really matter.
Hope this helps and please comment if you need clarification as I’d be happy to help clarify!
Edit: grammar
I would say national award and put it as 11th grade.
Great question @Rook! How many awards do you currently have in you Honors section of you application? If you have 5 awards already that might be less common or more impressive than the national merit one, you should include those in the Honors section and you can include the national merit in the additional information section of your resume.
This article: https://blog.collegevine.com/reporting-honors-and-awards-in-the-common-app does a good job explaining how you should be including national merit on your app. Since you received the commended student award you should list it at the state level. National merit finalists and scholars can be listed at the national level. I agree with @DebaterMAX that you should list the award as 11th grade since that is when you took the test.
If you have other questions or need more clarification please let me know, I'm happy to help. Good luck with your applications!
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Thanks for the answer. So for ap scholar awards, should I also list them for the year I took the test or when I received the award. (For instance I received the national ap scholar award the summer before my senior year after taking the tests in my junior year)