How to Complete the Common App Honors Section

By Zach Skillings

Zach Skillings is the Scholarships360 Newsletter Editor. He specializes in college admissions and strives to answer important questions about higher education. When he’s not contributing to Scholarships360, Zach writes about travel, music, film, and culture. His work has been published in Our State Magazine, Ladygunn Magazine, The Nocturnal Times, and The Lexington Dispatch. Zach graduated from Elon University with a degree in Cinema and Television Arts. Full Bio

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Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College. Full Bio

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Updated: November 28th, 2022

The honors section of the Common App is one of the few times in life when it’s perfectly acceptable to brag about yourself. This is your chance to list all the great things you’ve accomplished during your high school years. When it comes to filling out this section, the last thing you want to be is humble! Read on for tips on completing the honors section. 

What is the Common App honors section?

The honors section of the Common App is reserved for you to list your academic honors and awards. Keep in mind that the term “academic” is used pretty loosely in this context. This means that art awards, publications, and athletic awards are all fair game. 

You can list up to five honors, and for each one you’ll be asked to provide a brief description (100 characters or less). For each award, you’ll want to indicate the name of the honor, its meaning and purpose, and the years you received it. We know that it can be tough to describe your accomplishments in such a tiny amount of space, so we’ll provide some advice for that later on. 

Why should I care about the honors section?

The honors section is an excellent way for college admissions officers to gain an understanding of your strengths. Your activities section paints a picture of who you are outside the classroom, but the honors section is a demonstration of the things you really excel at. While the honors section certainly won’t make or break your application, it can really help you stand out if properly utilized.  

Also read: How to complete the Common App Activities Section

What can I include in the honors section?

There’s a common misconception that only the most prestigious, well-known awards are worthy of listing on your application. In reality, any academic accomplishment – no matter how big or small – can be included in the honors section. The Common App classifies awards by the following categories: 

1. School-wide
2. Local 
3. State / Regional 
4. National / International 

Remember that while you should strive to complete all five entries, it’s not absolutely necessary. Even listing one or two awards is better than leaving the section blank. If you’re at a loss for the types of awards and honors that you can include, here’s a few examples broken down by category: 

School-Wide

• Honor Roll / Principal’s List
• Membership in your school’s chapter of National Honor Society
• Athletic character recognition awards
• Outstanding achievement in a particular subject 
• Student of the Month / Year

Local / State / Regional 

• Extracurricular awards
• Publications
• Arts awards 
• Music performances

National / International 

• AP Scholar
• National Merit Scholar 
• The President’s Award

See also: What are extracurriculars and why do they matter?

How can I maximize my impact?

To make the most out of your honors section, keep the following strategies in mind: 

Be mindful of order

Make sure to lead with your most impressive achievements. The most competitive and well-known honors should be listed first, followed by awards that are lesser known. A general rule of thumb is that national awards should be listed first, followed by state, local, and school awards. 

Don’t waste space

The 100 character limit can make it difficult to describe honors, so it’s important to be efficient with your space. Keep the following tips in mind:

• Use phrases instead of sentences
• Write each number instead of spelling it out 
• Abbreviate (but only for well-known organizations)

Check out the following examples and take note of how the second iteration communicates the same information with less characters:

• In eleventh grade, I won first place in the North Carolina Youth and Government competition for writing and defending a bill on raising the minimum wage. (153 characters)
• 1st place, NC Youth & Government, wrote and defended a bill on raising the minimum wage, Grade: 11. (99 characters)

Include necessary info 

Being concise with your wording doesn’t mean that you should leave out information that is necessary to describe your award. Sometimes students make the mistake of listing accomplishments without actually describing what they are. This is especially true of lesser-known regional awards. Here’s an example:

• Winner, R.J. Simmons Award, Grade: 10

You may know that the R.J. Simmons Award is given to students in your high school who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to community service, but college admissions officers have no clue. Try listing regional awards like this instead: 

• Winner, R.J. Simmons Award for Community Service, performed 100+ hours of service work, Grade: 10

Try to squeeze in as many details as you can when describing your honors. The best entries succinctly recap the meaning of the prize and why you were awarded it. Of course, this isn’t necessary for well-known awards like National Merit that are self-explanatory. 

Also see: Coalition vs Common App: What’s the difference?

Utilize “Additional Info” section 

If you feel like five spaces isn’t enough to describe all of your accomplishments, use the Additional Information section at the end of the application to talk about the rest of your honors. Just make sure to practice good judgement when it comes to the Additional Information section. Don’t include honors and awards just for the sake of including them. Only list additional honors that you think college admissions officers should absolutely know about. 

Also read: How to write an essay about yourself

Key takeaways

To recap, let’s go over the basic do’s and don’ts for the Common App honors section:

Frequently asked questions