What goes in the Common App honors section?

Academic recognition, awards, and distinctions from 9th grade onward. National Honor Society, subject-specific awards, regional or national competition recognition, AP Scholar designation, National Merit Commended or Semifinalist status, and similar academic achievements. Include only genuine academic distinctions — not participation awards or generic certificates.

How many honors should I list on Common App?

Common App allows up to five entries. Three or four strong, genuine academic recognitions are better than five entries that include borderline items. Padding weakens the section. If you have only two genuine academic distinctions, list two and leave the rest blank rather than inventing a fifth.

Does AP Scholar count for Common App honors?

Yes. AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Honor, AP Scholar with Distinction, and National AP Scholar are legitimate academic recognitions worth including. They are relatively common among competitive applicants but still represent genuine academic achievement — include them if they are among your strongest recognitions.

What level should I select for honors on Common App?

Common App asks whether each honor is at the school, state/regional, national, or international level. Be accurate. A school-level award is a school-level award — listing it as national when it was awarded by your school is misrepresentation. School-level awards are still worth listing if they represent genuine academic distinction.

Can I list National Merit in Common App honors?

Yes. National Merit Commended Scholar, Semifinalist, and Finalist status are significant academic recognitions that belong in the honors section. Select National level. These are among the most meaningful entries available to students who qualify.

Common App Honors Section 2026: What to List and What to Leave Out

The Common App honors section allows up to five academic recognition entries from 9th grade onward. Most students either undersell it with too few entries or dilute it with padding. This guide covers what counts as a genuine honor, how to describe each entry effectively, and the difference between a strong honors section and one that weakens an otherwise good application.

What Counts as an Honor

The Common App honors section allows up to five entries for academic recognition. Every entry should represent a genuine, verifiable academic distinction. The section exists to capture awards, recognition, and distinctions that your transcript and activities section do not fully convey — not to pad the application with participation trophies or generic certificates.

How Each Entry Works

You can list up to five honors. For each one you give a title (kept to roughly 100 characters), the grade levels in which you received it, and a level of recognition: school, state or regional, national, or international. That last field is where students most often go wrong. It should describe who actually selected you, not how famous the sponsoring organisation is. A school-run contest with a national-sounding name is still a school-level honor.

Entries That Carry Weight

Subject prizes and departmental awards given by your school
Placements in state, regional or national competitions, such as science fairs, olympiads, writing and debate contests
National Merit recognition, at commended, semifinalist or finalist level
AP Scholar awards from the College Board
Honor societies where membership depends on academic achievement
Selective academic programmes or scholarships you were chosen for

If you are an international applicant, give the award name in plain English and add a few words of context inside the title, for example "National Mathematics Olympiad, top 50 nationwide". Readers cannot judge a prize they have never heard of.

Entries That Dilute the Section

Leave out participation certificates, perfect attendance, honors that every student in a class receives, and awards for being on a team that are better explained under Activities. If the same achievement fits in both sections, use the honors entry for the recognition itself and Activities for what you actually did. Do not list it twice with identical wording.

Writing Titles That Work Within the Limit

Short titles force you to be specific. Compare these:

Weak: "Honor Society"
Stronger: "National Honor Society, selected on GPA, service and leadership"
Weak: "Science award"
Stronger: "State Science Olympiad, 2nd place, chemistry lab"

Spell out any abbreviation that a reader might not know. Put the name of the awarding body in the title when it adds credibility, and avoid adjectives like "prestigious" because they sound defensive.

Order and Grade Levels

Place your strongest honor first, because readers often skim. Tick only the grade levels in which you actually earned the recognition, and do not stretch a one-time award across four years. If an honor recurs each year, ticking all of them is fair and shows consistency.

When You Have Fewer Than Five

Leaving slots empty is fine. A section with two true honors reads better than five padded ones, and admissions officers are used to students whose strengths lie elsewhere, such as research, work, family responsibilities or creative projects. If something important does not fit the honors format, such as a research publication or a significant independent project, it can go in Activities or the Additional Information section.

A Worked Example

Suppose a student has a school physics prize, a regional maths contest placement, an AP Scholar award and a national essay prize. The list would read: national essay prize first, then the regional maths placement, the AP Scholar award and the school physics prize, with the level of recognition set to match each one. A fifth entry such as "honor roll" is only worth adding if it was selective at that school. If everyone with a certain GPA received it, the slot is better left empty.

Check Before You Submit

Can you or your counsellor verify every entry if asked?
Does each level of recognition match who selected you?
Is each title clear to someone outside your school or country?
Is your strongest honor listed first?
Does any entry repeat an Activities entry without adding anything new?

A short, honest honors section does more for your application than a long one that readers have to discount.