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No Awards. Will this Affect My Application?
Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2021 7:50 am
by Mr Prof
I don't have any awards. Will this make my application look bad?
Re: No Awards. Will this Affect My Application?
Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2021 10:01 am
by IdeallyRingless
Mr Prof wrote: ↑Sat Feb 20, 2021 7:50 am
I don't have any awards. Will this make my application look bad?
If not having any awards is the only lacking part of your application then you’ll be fine. From what I understand, the only parts of an application that can ruin your chances on their own are a negative LOR from one of your letter writers or a huge blunder in your SOP/Personal Statement (like talking about the wrong university/professor). Missing awards honestly isn’t that much since a lot of people don’t score high on Putnam or they’re not the top in their department etc.
So long as the rest of your application is reasonable and you didn’t solely apply to top schools, then you have nothing to worry about. I know a number of people who got into decent programs (~100 rank) without any big awards or honors.
Re: No Awards. Will this Affect My Application?
Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2021 10:02 am
by nilnil
Surely there is something. No merit scholarships, however small? No travel grants ever provided to attend a conference (e.g. JMM)? No poster/talk awards? No dean's list (if that's something at your institution)? No poster/presentation awards? No induction into some honor society at any point? Award is a vague word that encompasses quite a lot.
Re: No Awards. Will this Affect My Application?
Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2021 12:47 pm
by Jmr324
IdeallyRingless wrote: ↑Sat Feb 20, 2021 10:01 am
Mr Prof wrote: ↑Sat Feb 20, 2021 7:50 am
I don't have any awards. Will this make my application look bad?
If not having any awards is the only lacking part of your application then you’ll be fine. From what I understand, the only parts of an application that can ruin your chances on their own are a negative LOR from one of your letter writers or a huge blunder in your SOP/Personal Statement (like talking about the wrong university/professor). Missing awards honestly isn’t that much since a lot of people don’t score high on Putnam or they’re not the top in their department etc.
So long as the rest of your application is reasonable and you didn’t solely apply to top schools, then you have nothing to worry about. I know a number of people who got into decent programs (~100 rank) without any big awards or honors.
It is obviously better to have awards but you can get into T50 and better US programs without awards. I know kids who had no awards into Unc Chapel hill, CU boulder, Uwashington, UVA, and other T50 schools.
Re: No Awards. Will this Affect My Application?
Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2021 12:27 am
by i_like_math
IdeallyRingless wrote: ↑Sat Feb 20, 2021 10:01 am
Mr Prof wrote: ↑Sat Feb 20, 2021 7:50 am
I don't have any awards. Will this make my application look bad?
If not having any awards is the only lacking part of your application then you’ll be fine. From what I understand, the only parts of an application that can ruin your chances on their own are a negative LOR from one of your letter writers or a huge blunder in your SOP/Personal Statement (like talking about the wrong university/professor). Missing awards honestly isn’t that much since a lot of people don’t score high on Putnam or they’re not the top in their department etc.
So long as the rest of your application is reasonable and you didn’t solely apply to top schools, then you have nothing to worry about. I know a number of people who got into decent programs (~100 rank) without any big awards or honors.
Even if you mention the wrong school on your essay you can still possibly get in lol. A friend of mine did that for a school he applied to and got in with funding lmao.
Re: No Awards. Will this Affect My Application?
Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2021 4:56 am
by spectral_sequence
Meh depends where you did your undergrad. I know people in my country without any awards getting into top 10 US schools. Imo grades in advanced math courses, research, LOR are a lot more important.