How to Tell Colleges about MATHCOUNTS?

[xiaoyan]

Hi,
My question is when I apply for a college I send them a transcript. However, my current high school transcript only has the contest awards I got in High School on it. I have heard that it looks good to colleges that you have participated in MATHCOUNTS. Do I add MATHCOUNTS (obviously done in middle school) in my highschool transcript or do I tell the college about it in some other way?

PS. I have never filled out a college application before, so if there is a section that I could list my awards and achievements that doesn't involve my high school transcript, PLEASE tell me about it and how it works.

THANKS SOOOO MUCH!

[t0rajir0u]

Your transcript has awards? That's unusual. There's usually a separate portion of the application for awards and achievements, but I think MATHCOUNTS is a little too far back to make much of a difference.

[crazypianist1116]

There are different applications for each college (many are commonapp) but most have a section specifically set aside for awards. I wouldn't mention a middle school award though unless it's really significant (e.g. winning mathcounts nats). But in those cases, you'll generally have high school awards which can further outweigh the middle school awards.

[Lazarus]

You could offhandedly mention it in an essay (maybe it made you more interested in higher-level math? I know it did for me). Try not to be obnoxious when doing so, though.

[AwesomeToad]

I think there is a word limit or preference for the application.

Therefore, you should mention the AMC/AIME/USAMO/etc.s more, because that is a high school contest and more prestigious than a middle school competition like Mathcounts.