Hey everyone! I just finished my Common App activities resume, and honestly, it was a bit of a rollercoaster. If you're like me, you might be wondering how to showcase what you've done without sounding like a robot. Here are some tips that really helped me out!
1. Focus on Impact
Instead of listing everything I did, I prioritized activities that showed my impact. Like, instead of just saying I volunteered, I wrote about how many hours I contributed and what we accomplished as a team. Colleges want to know what I actually did and the difference it made!
2. Use Clear, Concise Descriptions
Keep it simple. Each bullet point needs to be clear and to the point. I used action verbs to start each description, which really made a difference. For example, instead of saying “participated in community service,” I wrote “organized a food drive that collected 500 pounds of food.” It sounded way more impressive!
3. Don't Forget about Leadership
If you’ve held any leadership roles, make sure to highlight them! I included my role as the captain of my soccer team. It showed that I could manage responsibilities and motivate my teammates.
4. Balance Quantity with Quality
I tried not to overload my resume with too many activities. Instead, I picked 5-7 key activities that really represented me. Quality over quantity is the way to go!
5. Edit, Edit, Edit!
After drafting, I had a couple of friends and my advisor look it over. Fresh eyes can spot things you might miss. I made sure there were no typos and that my format was clean.
Building my activities resume for the Common App was definitely stressful, but following these tips made it way less daunting. Hopefully, these insights will help you too! Good luck!