Sharing interests, hobbies and extracurricular activities can be nerve-wracking, especially since the Common Application’s ‘Activities’ section offers ten spots with very short descriptions. In our office, we suggest students create a log beforehand so they can work through their descriptions. For those students also applying to the University of California schools, a thoughtful activities list can also be used for the UC Application and as a blueprint for creating a professional résumé in the future.
Since many students will be putting together a list of activities for the first time this fall, Green Ivy wanted to share some ways to best capture them on college applications.
General Tips:
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Organize the list according to your most meaningful activities and/or your biggest time commitments. Admissions officers admittedly read these lists quickly, so the first two or three activities should be the ones of most importance. In terms of time spent, it is fine to estimate the hours spent per week, but be honest and conservative.
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(Almost) nothing before 9th grade counts. Colleges don’t typically want to know about activities before freshman year. Exceptions might include an activity you might have participated in for many years and continue to be involved.
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Take advantage of the space on the Common App to list your position and the organization name for each activity. There are only 150 characters in the descriptions section to elaborate on what was achieved or learned, so capitalize on the extra room above to share any positions that were held or related details.
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Use active (and varied) verbs to emphasize measurable impact and/or tangible skills. How much money was raised? Who benefitted from the activity? What was your specific role in the organization’s accomplishments? What was learned?
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Capture lists instead of complete sentences. Since space is limited, use fragments that describe what happened. For example, instead of “I raised money to donate to a school in Guatemala by selling t-shirts and bracelets,” try “Arranged advertising events, organized fundraisers, and gave presentations at school meetings.”
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For awards and honors, give admissions a sense of context. How many students competed? Was it a local, state, or national competition? Pro tip: Always spell out the full name of an organization instead of providing an acronym—don’t assume readers will recognize an acronym.
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Remember that activities don’t have to be structured or formal. The Activities List could be an opportunity to expand on hobbies or family care responsibilities, such as babysitting or creating drawings in your room.
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Edit, revise, and then revise again. The activities list is an opportunity to share experiences that were meaningful and influential throughout high school, so making the list readable and compelling can strengthen an overall application.
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