One of the things that brought me the most stress in college admissions wasn’t essay writing or filling out my activities. It was the stupid honors section. You might think that’s stupid because the honors section is pretty simple, right? Just five short little boxes you need to fill in. But I had no idea what to put there. My school didn’t give away honors, and I didn’t know what was allowed. Here’s the video I wish I had: what the honors section is, what you’re allowed to put there, and how to best fill it out to make your application strong.
I know one of the things that brought me the most stress in college admissions wasn’t essay writing. It wasn’t trying to fill out my activities. It was this stupid honors section.
You might think that’s stupid because the honors section is pretty simple, right? There’s just five short little boxes you need to fill in.
But I had no idea what to put there. My school didn’t give away honors, and I didn’t know what was allowed.
So I thought today I would just make the video I wish I had and explain to you what the honors section is, what you’re allowed to put there, and how to kind of best mold it to make your application really strong.
Contents
What is an honor?
Maybe this is a little straightforward, but let’s start here. An honor is anything that gives you honor. Anything you’re proud of.
It doesn’t have to be a specific award or a title your school gave you. It’s really anything you’re proud of, anything you want to show off to the admissions officers.
The key insight
If you think it could be an honor, it probably is.
I don’t know many things where you would think, “Oh, I want to put this there,” and then an admissions officer is like, “No, that’s not allowed.”
They don’t really care. They’re not sticklers on some imaginary rules the Common App made up about what you’re allowed to put here and what you’re not.
What types of things are allowed?
This is the main point I want to make in this video: pretty much anything is allowed.
The things you typically think of
Obviously, the things you think of when you hear “honors” are like school rewards. Maybe something you earned through a nonprofit effort. Employee of the month at your work. Stuff like that you would typically think of as awards and honors.
But it can be anything
Really, it can be anything.
A couple of the things I put personally:
- All-State for golf (junior year)
- State championship for golf
- AP Scholar with Distinction
Those first two are honors, but they’re not academic. And they don’t have to be academic. That’s another main point I want to make.
It doesn’t have to be academic
When you think of honors and awards, you’re thinking, “What should I show them academically?” But it doesn’t have to be academic.
It can be:
- Athletic
- Work-related (employee of the month, employee of the year)
- Community-based
- Really anything
Maybe you’re really proud of the work you did at wherever you work, and you’re employee of the year. That shows a lot more about you than “AP Scholar with Distinction.”
Don’t be scared. Put whatever you feel like you want to show off. That’s really the message I’d like to convey here.
What if I don’t have five?
I just rattled off like three honors, and honestly, they weren’t that strong. I can’t even remember what my other ones were, which probably means they weren’t that important.
And if they’re not that important to me, they’re probably not that important to the admissions officers.
You don’t have to fill all five spots
There’s five spots, but at the end of the day, if you’re putting “AP Scholar with Distinction” at the fifth spot, something that most people applying to these colleges have, then what’s really the difference between putting it there and leaving it off?
It’s up to you. Obviously, I would try to fill out all five. See if you can come up with some stuff.
Get creative
Again, get creative. It doesn’t just have to be academic awards that your school gave you. It can really be anything:
- Tied to athletics
- Tied to your work
- Tied to community involvement
- Anything you’re genuinely proud of
How should you format these honors?
There’s no set rule for formatting.
Simple honors
Maybe your honor is a three-word phrase like “Most Improved Athlete” on your team. That’s it. You don’t really have to spice that up.
More complex honors
But maybe it’s something kind of confusing. Like mine was “First Team All-State Golf at my State Golf Tournament.” How do you word that? How do you write it in language that the admissions officers are going to care about?
The most important formatting rule
Don’t use niche lingo that only you would know or is specific to the thing you did.
The admissions officers have to understand your honors. What is “All-State” or “All-State First Team Tournament” to an admissions officer who doesn’t follow high school golf? That’s just a bunch of words that don’t really mean anything.
Try to write it in a clear way that uses standard language that the admissions officers can easily pick up on.
Putting this in perspective
Here’s the thing you need to remember:
At the end of the day, it’s the honors section. It’s not as important as:
- Your activities
- Your essays
- Your grades and test scores
So don’t stress over it too much.
Most people struggle with this
I know I stressed over it a lot because I really didn’t have five good ones. And honestly, a lot of my friends didn’t either.
Our school doesn’t give away honors like that. Even friends who went to other schools were like, “I don’t know what to put here.”
So just know: if you’re struggling with it, most people are. Don’t worry too much about it.
Just try to get creative. Write about anything that brings you honor, that you’re proud of, and that should work.
Examples of what you can include
Based on everything I’ve covered, here are categories of things that absolutely count as honors:
Academic honors
- AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, AP Scholar with Honor
- National Merit Commended/Semifinalist/Finalist
- Honor roll recognition
- Subject-specific awards (Math Olympiad, Science Fair, etc.)
- Dean’s list or principal’s list
Athletic honors
- All-State, All-Conference, All-League
- Team MVP
- State championship
- Record-breaking performances
- Captain selection
Work and leadership honors
- Employee of the month/year
- Promotion or special recognition
- Leadership awards from organizations you’re part of
Community and extracurricular honors
- Eagle Scout or Gold Award
- Volunteer recognition awards
- Competition placements (debate, Model UN, music, etc.)
- Scholarships you’ve already received
The test for whether something counts
Ask yourself: am I genuinely proud of this? Does it represent something I accomplished or was recognized for?
If yes, it probably belongs in your honors section.
Don’t overthink it
The honors section is five boxes that caused me way more stress than they deserved.
Here’s what you need to know:
- An honor is anything you’re proud of – not just academic awards
- Pretty much anything is allowed – admissions officers aren’t checking against some rulebook
- You don’t have to fill all five – quality over quantity
- Write clearly – avoid niche jargon, use language anyone can understand
- Keep perspective – this section matters less than activities, essays, and grades
Get creative. Include athletic achievements, work recognition, community awards, competition results. If you’re proud of it and it shows something about who you are, it belongs.
Good luck filling it out.
Ready to take the next step?
If you’re working through your college applications and want help making sure every section, including honors, activities, and essays, works together to tell a compelling story, book a free 45-minute college planning strategy session with our team.
We help high-performing students present themselves in the strongest possible way, turning scattered achievements into a cohesive narrative that admissions officers remember.
Frequently asked questions about the honors section
Do honors have to be from high school? Generally yes, the Common App asks about honors from grades 9-12. But if you have something significant from 8th grade that carried into high school, use your judgment.
Should I list honors in a specific order? Put your most impressive or most relevant honors first. Admissions officers may not read all five carefully, so lead with your strongest.
What if my school doesn’t give traditional honors? This was my exact situation. Get creative. Think about athletics, work, community involvement, competitions, anything where you were recognized or achieved something notable.
Is AP Scholar with Distinction worth listing? It’s fine to list if you need to fill spots, but know that most applicants to competitive schools have it. It won’t differentiate you. If you have something more unique, prioritize that.
Can I list the same activity in honors and activities? Yes. If you won an award related to an activity (like state championship in a sport you also list in activities), you can mention it in both places. They serve different purposes.
What if I genuinely only have two honors? Then list two. It’s better to have two meaningful honors than five where two are meaningful and three are filler that every applicant has.
