· Extracurricular Activity Examples. Member (9th/10th) Treasurer (11th/12th) National Honors Society, Ridgefield High School Chapter. We are amongst the highest academically achieving students at our school, who collectively and consistently participate in community service projects. Student, Class TA · Ethan Sawyer. August 20, Common App, Student Resources. The Common App activities section is an opportunity to demonstrate to the Common App colleges your talents, skills, and specific examples of extracurricular activities you’ve participated in over the last few years. I think one of the best ways to write a great activities list is to look at some really solid Common App Common App Activity Section How-To When you fill out your activities, use: The space to express how you interact with that activity Language like you would on a resume to highlight your leadership and involvement (do not use I/we/us/you)
How to Impress Colleges With the Common App Activities Section — Ponder College
TABLE OF CONTENTS Click to scroll Three Tools for Up-Leveling Your Activities List 1. The Epic List of Activities List Verbs 2. The BEABIES Exercise 3. The Values Scan 10 Tips for Making Your Activities List Awesome Activities List FAQs 10 More Great Activities List Examples The Honors and Awards Section. You only get characters on the activities list for the Common Application. How do you make the most of them? Here are some tips with accompanying college activities list examples.
Applying through the Coalition Application, ApplyTexas, UC Application, or another application system? These tips still apply. How to develop more and better content for your activities list. How values can help you bring much more variety to your activities list. Why you should never stretch the truth on your activities list. Your activities list can make a big difference in your application, activity section common app.
Art Created art and organized club. Founder, Art Honors Society Organized and ran meetings, activity section common app, set up field trips, brainstormed and created group art activities, wrote and sent newsletter to members, activity section common app.
Most students write a pretty good activities list description and then they activity section common app there. Use stronger verbs. Develop better and perhaps a bit more content. Have you included a wide range of responsibilities? Most students forget to include solving problems, gaining skills, and making tangible and even quantifiable! Are you communicating what you learned or how an activity changed you? If not, you may be leaving money on the table.
You probably need stronger verbs. How do I know? Member, Debate Debated topics, attended tournaments, researched topics. BTW I am so much nicer and less sarcastic in real life—just employing it here to make a point. I lead research and case writing, mentor younger debate students, organize mock debates, host an activity section common app debate tournament.
Heads activity section common app Using this list for ten minutes will up-level your activities list verbs, and thereby your descriptions. But wait. Instructions : Spend minutes filling out a BEABIES chart per activity on your list to generate plenty of content for your activities list descriptions.
Use the 25 questions below the chart for ideas. After a few minutes, your chart may look something like this:. Did I list all my tasks, or just a few? Go back and check, activity section common app. Did I list tasks I completed that fell slightly outside the scope of my responsibilities? Did I consider the internal problems I solved—any personal challenges? Did I name the external activity section common app I solved—for my friends or family?
What were some of the soft skills I learned patience, communication, etc. Did I learn any specific software Photoshop, Final Cut Pro?
Survival skills how to start a fire or clean a fish? Did I consider the impact this had on my family? Who else benefited? What impact did this have on me personally? What skills did I develop and lessons did I learn that will make me a better X tutor, debater, advocate, volunteer, programmer, fill in the blank?
How so? What did I do to build on and take what I learned to the next level? How might I continue this activity during college and beyond? The Value Scan is a great way to make sure your core values are apparent throughout your application. Like this:. Which values are clearly being revealed in the description?
Which values are kind of being revealed, but could probably be revealed more clearly in the description? Which values are not in the description at all yet, but perhaps could be included? Take this description as an example, written by a student who was secretary of her Red Cross Club:.
Responsible for taking minutes, updating calendar and active member list, communicating with advisors, acting activity section common app a activity section common app to our local chapter. Which values is this description clearly revealing? Do you see others? But this is a good start. Okay, next ask Which values could be revealed more clearly in the description?
I might ask the student if she can think of something she did that might demonstrate leadership. This is a process of asking questions activity section common app seeing what variety might be possible. Which values are not in the description at all yet, but perhaps could be?
To determine the answer for this student, it helps to know the author. So I asked her: Did working with the Red Cross help you become more adaptable? If so, how? What detail might show this?
Indian Tabla Self-taught via YouTube videos; played drums at community meetings for worker rights awareness; helped my sister become proficient. Goal: Include values per activity. If you can achieve this, just think: your list could demonstrate 20 or 30 values! Instead of: Instructed, helped, taught children tennis how are these three different? Try: Instructed in proper technique, while imparting lessons in sportsmanship, health and integrity. Instead of: I gave tour campus tours and provided info on school history, student activities, and boarding life.
Try: I give campus tours and provide info on school history, student activities, boarding life. Actually, let me rephrase: Because your space is limited, your word choice is important. One more time: Limited space demands precise wording. See what I did there? Cut my character count from 92, to 61, to And are you still using complete sentences?
If so, stop. No need here. So instead of: I raised money to donate to a school in India by selling t-shirts and bracelets. Emphasize tangible, measurable impact.
How many people? How much money did you raise? Instead of: Raised money for children in Africa. Include any responsibilities that demonstrate leadership skills. Instead of: I swim on the swim team. Activity section common app Responsible for leading swim practices, planning fundraising events, assisting in recruiting process. Instead of: Tutored students. Try: Provided support to fourth graders with particularly difficult math concepts, activity section common app. Describe selectivity.
This is key if the reader might not understand the achievement your activity represents. Example: 1 of 2 student leaders elected by my peers to represent our class of Another example: Received 1st place out of competing teams. Instead of to help all those in need or to end poverty in the world Try to help those in need or to fight against global poverty.
In other words, instead of writing Participant, MLK Day of Service You can just write MLK Day of Service.
HOW TO FILL OUT THE COMMON APP ACTIVITIES SECTION!
, time: 7:58How to Fill Out the Common App Activities Section
· Extracurricular Activity Examples. Member (9th/10th) Treasurer (11th/12th) National Honors Society, Ridgefield High School Chapter. We are amongst the highest academically achieving students at our school, who collectively and consistently participate in community service projects. Student, Class TA Common App Activity Section How-To When you fill out your activities, use: The space to express how you interact with that activity Language like you would on a resume to highlight your leadership and involvement (do not use I/we/us/you) · This is the Common App activities section. While simply listing your activities might seem like enough information for colleges, try thinking about it from the eyes of an admissions officer. A student who founded the Spanish club and ran a successful fundraiser to sponsor a field trip is not the same as the student who attended meetings “sometimes, when they felt like it
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