Common App Honors Section: What Counts, Examples

Common App Honors Section: What Counts, Examples

The Common App Honors section holds up to 5 honors "related to your academic achievements," from 9th grade on. Each entry gets a title, a grade level (9, 10, 11, 12 or PG) and a level of recognition: School, State or regional, National or International. The whole section is optional.

The word that decides this section is easy to skip. The form does not ask for "honors." It asks for honors "related to your academic achievements." Our view: a varsity MVP or a music prize does not belong here. It goes in that activity's own description line, and an empty Honors section is an accurate answer, not a gap to fill.

Every Common App document quoted below was checked on October 30, 2026. Common App's 2026-27 update deck lists changes to Activities and other sections but names no change to Honors. Common App's public guides we checked do not print a character limit for an honor title, and we could not check a live account. The field in your application shows the limit.

What the form actually says

The 2026 Common App first-year application opens the section with this instruction:

"The items in this section are optional. List any honors you have received related to your academic achievements beginning with the ninth grade or international equivalent."

Its columns are "Grade level or post-graduate (PG)," "Honor" and "Level(s) of recognition," with the codes "S (School) S/R (State or regional) N (National) I (International)."

Common App's Gather your materials checklist (© 2025) sets the count: "You can include up to 5 academic honors you received during high school. You'll need to include the honor's title, when you received it, and the level of recognition you received (regional or national, for example)."

Three rules follow directly from that text:

1. Academic only. The instruction says "related to your academic achievements."
2. 9th grade or later. "beginning with the ninth grade or international equivalent." An 8th-grade award does not qualify.
3. Five at most. Not five per year. Five in total.

What counts, and what goes elsewhere

The Activities section has its own place for awards. Common App's Approaching the Activities section guide (© 2025) names the description field "Activity details, honors won, and accomplishments" and gives it 150 characters. That field is where a non-academic award belongs.

This routing table is our recommendation, built on those two field definitions:

The rule behind the last three rows: if the award came out of an activity you already list, put it in that activity's line. Honors is for recognition of academic work itself. A sports or arts award in Honors is the wrong field, and it uses one of your five slots.

The countercase: an arts or athletic award with no matching activity on your list (you won a regional poetry prize but are not listing creative writing as an activity) has no other home. In that case listing it in Honors is reasonable. The form says "academic," so expect some readers to see it as out of place.

For the current AP award names: the College Board's Qualifying for an AP Scholar Award page lists AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Honor and AP Scholar with Distinction. Its AP Awards & Recognitions page lists the National AP Scholar and State AP Scholar among "the awards that AP no longer offers," and says awards appear on score reports "starting in July."

Choosing the five and ordering them

This is our recommendation. Common App does not publish an ordering rule.

1. Highest level first. International, then National, then State or regional, then School.
2. One entry per honor. Honor roll for three years is one entry with three grade levels checked, not three entries. The paper form shows grade-level boxes for 9, 10, 11, 12 and PG beside each honor.
3. One entry per award series. If you hold AP Scholar with Distinction, do not also list AP Scholar. List the top level only.
4. Recent over old when two honors have the same level. An 11th-grade state award usually tells a reader more than a 9th-grade one.
5. Stop at the real ones. If you have two academic honors, list two.

What if you have more than five? Choose. Do not paste the rest into Additional Information unless a college asks for them. One exception: Duke's Apply page says "Duke does not accept separate resumes. You may include extra honors and accomplishments in the 'Additional Information' section of the application." That is Duke's rule. Common App Additional Information: what belongs explains why a longer awards list usually belongs nowhere.

Writing each entry

An outside reader does not know your school's awards or your state's competitions. Each title should say what the honor is, not just its name.

Two cautions:

• Only state a selectivity fact the awarding body publishes. "One per grade" is fine if your school says so. "Top 1%" is not, unless the organizer prints it.
• The level is your honest call. A school award is S even if the competition was hard. A national program's lowest tier is still N.

Ten constructed honor entries

The entries below are constructed examples, written by us, not real applicant entries. Competition names are generic placeholders, not real events.

A real applicant picks five of these, not ten. Applying the ordering rules above, a student holding all ten would list 1, 2, 3 and 4, then one of the four S/R entries (5 to 8). Entry 5 wins on recency, because it runs into grade 12. Honor roll (10) drops out even though it is the most sustained, because the transcript already shows it.

What we left off on purpose: "Varsity soccer captain" and "All-state orchestra, second violin." Both belong in their activity lines, using the "honors won" part of the 150 characters.

For olympiad and competition entries in more detail, see Common App honors for olympiad students and STEM college essay examples for olympiad students.

How Honors fits with your activities list

Honors and Activities split one job. Honors names the academic recognition. The activity line describes the work and can name the non-academic award. If an academic award came out of an activity (a science fair project from your research club), list the award in Honors and describe the work in the activity, without repeating the award title in both. Common App activities examples and field strategy covers the activity fields line by line.

Questions about the Common App Honors section

Can I list honors from 8th grade?

No. The form asks for honors "beginning with the ninth grade or international equivalent."

Is it bad to leave the Honors section blank?

The form calls the section "optional." A blank Honors section says you have no academic honors to report. Do not move sports or arts awards in to fill it.

Can I put AP Scholar in Common App honors?

Yes. It is recognition for academic exam results. List only your highest AP Scholar level, at the grade you earned it.

What level is a school-district or county award?

Common App does not define the levels beyond their names. A district or county award is wider than one school but not statewide. We would mark it S/R and name the district in the title so the reader sees the scope.

Does the UC application have the same Honors section?

No. UC's filling out the application page describes one "Activities & awards" section, where each entry is classified into one of six categories, including "Award or honor." See the UC Activities and Awards guide. If your school had no clubs, see how to list activities from a school with no clubs, including class roles and family duties.

Get a free review of your Common App activities list

There is no separate honors rubric. Get a free Quick Review of your Common App activities list against GradPilot's activities list rubric, the closest fit. It reads whether each entry explains the work you actually did instead of only a title, and whether the entries are easy to follow and fit the field limits. Paste your activity lines with any awards you moved out of Honors.

More guides for the Common App sections:

• Common App activities examples and field strategy: the activity fields line by line.
• Common App family responsibilities: what to write: caregiving and work in Activities.
• UC Activities and Awards: categories and examples: the UC version of this section.
• College essays hub: more Common App and supplement guides.

Sources

Retrieved October 30, 2026, except where noted.

• Common App, First-year application (PDF) (© 2026): the Honors instruction, columns and level codes.
• Common App, Gather your materials (PDF) (© 2025): up to 5 academic honors; title, date and level.
• Common App, Approaching the Activities section (PDF) (© 2025): the "Activity details, honors won, and accomplishments" field at 150 characters.
• Common App, What's New with Common App: First-Year 2026-2027 (PDF) (2026-27): Activities changes; no Honors change listed.
• College Board, Qualifying for an AP Scholar Award: current AP Scholar levels.
• College Board, AP Awards & Recognitions: discontinued awards; July score-report timing.
• Duke University, Apply (2026-27 cycle): extra honors in Additional Information, Duke only.
• University of California, Filling out the application (no year stated): the Activities & awards section and its six categories.