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Honors> Adding Honors & Awards

Here are some tips on how to add your honors and awards in GradMap

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Written by Michelle Mai
Updated over 4 months ago

🏅 How to Enter Honors and Awards for College Applications

Hi there! In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of entering your honors and awards in the Activities & Awards section of your college applications, as explained by Christina in the accompanying video. This is crucial for showcasing your accomplishments and the hard work behind them, especially for platforms like the Common App and UC Application.


🔑 Key Steps to Entering Your Honors & Awards

  1. Navigate to the Right Section

    • Go to your Activities & Awards section.

    • Scroll down or switch tabs to find Honors.

  2. Classify the Type of Award

    • Identify whether the award is academic or non-academic.

      • Common App: Only academic awards from 9th grade onward are allowed.

      • UC Application: Both academic and non-academic honors can be listed.

  3. List the Award with Details

    • Enter the name of the award.

    • Add the eligibility requirements:

      • E.g., For “Scholar Athlete” – maintaining a certain GPA while participating in sports.

    • Describe what you personally did to earn the honor:

      • E.g., Joined athlete study groups, maintained discipline, etc.

  4. Add Context to Stand Out

    • Go beyond naming the award—narrate your effort.

    • Highlight actions like:

      • Prioritizing academics

      • Joining honor societies

      • Balancing sports and school

  5. Add a counselor to double-check your honors and awards descriptions

    • After entering your information, your counselor will review the entries.

    • They’ll help refine and organize your submissions before finalizing.


⚠️ Cautionary Notes

  • Only Academic Honors for Common App: The Common Application does not accept non-academic awards.

  • Ninth Grade and Up: Don’t include middle school or earlier awards unless they extended into high school.

  • Avoid Vague Descriptions: Saying “High GPA” is not enough—include how you achieved and maintained it.


⚡ Tips for Efficiency

  • You can draft inside of GradMap first: Enter in any of your honors and awards when you think of it. Add in the entry with bullet points, exceeding the character count before paring it down and finalizing your descriptions.

  • Use a Template:

    • Name of Award

    • Grade(s) Received

    • Type (Academic/Non-Academic)

    • Eligibility Requirements

    • Your Personal Process

  • Batch Similar Awards: If you received the same award multiple years, mention the years together to save space.

  • Highlight Process Over Prestige: Even lesser-known awards can shine if you explain the hard work behind them.


✅ Final Checklist

✔️ Academic awards only (for Common App)

✔️ Include personal effort behind the award

✔️ Be clear and specific about eligibility

✔️ Include both types of awards in the UC app

✔️ Get counselor feedback before finalizing in the summary section

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