The Prepared Student College Prep: How to Showcase Your Activities in the Common App
The Activities portion of the college application can play a significant role in admissions decisions, especially as applicants are becoming more and more competitive in terms of straight academic achievements. Having a strong profile of activities and commitments can help to set an applicant apart, so it’s important to make sure that the way you outline your activities in your application reflects positively on you as a candidate.
There are a handful of factors that almost all colleges are looking for when they review an application. Among those are strong academic performance throughout high school, a pattern of challenging oneself throughout high school, and involvement within one’s community. The very first thing that colleges will look for on an application is a student’s academic achievements, including their GPA and types of classes that they have taken. Depending on the school, they may also consider standardized test scores, like the ACT or SAT.
From there, other aspects of the application can also be very important, including essays, letters of recommendation, and the applicant’s resume of activities. In fact, colleges want to know a lot about the different activities and causes that you have devoted your time to over your high school years. They are going to ask for information about how long you have been involved with each group or organization, the hours that you have committed to each, and whether you have an interest in pursuing a similar commitment during college. They are also going to ask you to briefly explain your role and repsonsibilities in an effort to get to know you better as a person, as a community member, and as a leader.
Where do you put information about your activities?
When you compile your college applications in the Common App system, there will be a combination of sections that you complete for individual schools and sections that you complete for all of the schools on your list. The Activities section can be found under the main Common App tab in the portal, which contains the pieces of your application that will be accessible to all of the schools that you end up applying to.
What kinds of activities can I include?
There are many types of activities that you can include in the Common App. In fact, they let you pick from a variety of categories as you enter your commitments and roles. Activities can include anything from extracurricular activities and clubs through your school to volunteer work to paid internships and jobs. You can also include work or responsibilities that you have on behalf of your family, summer programs that you have partaken in, and more. If you are unsure how to categorize an activity, there is even an “Other Club/Activity” option.
How many activities can I include?
In the Common App, there is room to include 10 activities. For most people, this will be plenty. If you find that you really, really wish that you could include more, there is an Additional Information section where you can add any other information that you want to include with your application. I only recommend adding more clubs and activities to this part of the application if you feel really strongly that you need to include more than the 10 that are included in the Activities section.
There’s only room for 150 characters. What should I write about my involvement?
This is the hardest part for most people. 150 characters is not much — basically a couple of sentences. This is why it can be wise to plan outside of the Common App. My recommendation for this part of the application is to treat it like a resume. When you write a resume, you will also include some brief notes about your responsibilities for each job or activity. What you don’t do on a resume is write in full sentences, so you don’t want to do that here either. Instead, focus on short, choppy explanations that use powerful action verbs to show your impact.
Here is an example:
Student Council President:
Coordinated and successfully organized 8 school trips; collaborated with officers and advisors to bring more AP courses to school; arranged meetings
That right there ^^ is 148 characters. This is how short and sweet and to the point you will have to be with your descriptions. Get to the point quickly and be sure to include the bigger accomplishments and responsibilities that have the most impact and that you are the most proud of.
What order should I put my activities in?
At the end of the day, everyone’s Activities section will look very different, and there is no right or wrong resume to have. Your activities section will have a positive impact on your entire application if you can do the following:
Show an ongoing commitment to some clubs or organizations that are meaningful to you over several years
Demonstrate leadership abilities and community impact (Even if you don’t necessarily have a “leader” title — there’s more to leadership than being the Vice President of a club or the Football Captain. Show how you’ve acted as a leader even if you don’t have these official titles.)
Include a combination of volunteer work and community involvement both within your school and your broader local community (Colleges love community!)
Illustrate your passions by involving yourself in causes that you care about (Meaning it is good if your interests show through your activities section as well. For instance, if you are interested in being a doctor, you are probably involved in clubs like HOSA and the Red Cross.)
Don’t feel like you need to use all ten spots on the Common App either — it’s better to have fewer strong examples than to include some weaker ones that are less significant to you. As a good rule of thumb, if it’s important to you, include it in your application!
