I question recognized achievements.
Well of course! The vast majority of admissions committees do not. For every regeneron finalist there are dozens and dozens of kids who are adept at self-promotion/hyperbole/fraud...you can draw the line wherever you like. In case you haven’t read about it, at some competitive high schools, it is now a thing for parents and students to report other classmates who have embellished their records/transcripts. Sometimes to the school admin/counselors, and sometimes to the colleges where students have already been admitted. I haven’t heard of this at our own school (well, the embellishments, of course, the calling out stuff, no) but it would not surprise me at all.
Welcome to competitive college admissions.
