Continue to be brief and highlight the important things that you feel cannot be left out. Common App Activity Entries: The Analysis . We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. Look at the options for extracurricular activities on the Common … Admission officers will value anything you share on this topic, and they will treat your personal story with respect and confidentiality. Get valuable advice from students who have been in your shoes. For the Common App, you'll need to reflect on what you have learned from your activities and how they have helped you develop. The Common App is essentially a standard form that allows an applicant to input basic information, which will then go directly to university admissions.Some sections of the Common App are The College Entrance Examination BoardTM does not endorse, nor is it affiliated in any way with the owner or any content of this site. Unless you have very specific and detailed items to put in the description for each choir activity, they can be joined together, opening a precious empty slot for another amazing activity. The reality is, admissions officers may just skim an uploaded resumé for the sake of time. Looking for more extracurriculars to participate in? Let’s say you play volleyball. Award-winning soloist/first chair violinist. If you do this, you're making the most of your first 50 characters, and you can then use the Activity Description to elaborate on the points you have already raised in the Activity Name. Let’s go through the Activities section of the Common App step by step. This 1 tip is exactly 149 characters long. Don’t treat these opportunities as “extra space” – only use these options if truly necessary! Admission officers will value anything you share on this topic, and they will treat your personal story with respect and confidentiality. With 150 characters, you have no space to waste. In this box, you can use 150 characters to talk about details of your activity. Adding Common App Activities: Brainstorm First You can also use the additional information section under the Writing tab to add details like research paper abstracts and other noteworthy items related to your Common App activities. HOW TO WRITE YOUR COMMON APP college ACTIVITIES LIST Co-Founder and Tutor (10th-12th) Taurus Peer Tutoring Program, self-started business Launched program through which students can request coaching in math/science, instructed concepts in chemistry and precalculus (1 hr/wk; 30 wks/yr). Read our guide on How to Write the Common App Essays Types of Activities and Positions Held. DO make the most of your 150 characters. Just make sure they really are important! What ACT target score should you be aiming for? If so, what specifically did you do? Trending Articles. Order of Activities on the Common App One of the biggest mistakes I see on the common application is the order of activities. Transfer . Common App Activities: How to Fit More Than 10 Extracurriculars on Your List. On a piece of paper, write down a list of your activities. Admissions officers are going to be particularly interested in seeing how you have been involved in leadership positions and that you have dedicated a significant amount of time and energy to your activities. Volunteered 10 hours a week taking care of cats and dogs, cleaning cages, feeding animals, and interviewing potential owners at my local animal shelter. You can often combine multiple activities under one heading if none of them is individually significant enough, or if you need to save space. SAT® is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination BoardTM. Trained 7 state qualifiers; developed fundraising, recruitment campaigns to raise $1200 in 1 year, increase membership from 6 to 40 members in 2 years – The Common Application offers a drop-down menu with the following activities from which to select: Academic; Art; Athletics: Club; Athletics: JV/Varsity; Career-Oriented; Community Service (Volunteer) Computer/Technology; Cultural; Dance; Debate/Speech; Environmental The Common App gives you room to write about ten of your activities. 2 of my WHAT I PUT ON MY COMMON APP video, and I focus on the top 10 activities that Common App makes you list on your application. Drawing attention to an activity-based award in the Honors section can be a good idea if it is standalone and contributes to your Application Persona – the thematic framework running through your application. 55 3. Don’t just try to guess what the admissions officers want to see, because the whole point is to show off what is important to you. Next, fill in the number of weeks per year that you did the activity, and the hours per week. On the other hand, if you've been accepted, got elected as the president of your school chapter, organized weekly meetings, and planned several volunteer activities throughout the year, list it as an activity. Next Essay. And does it show what kind of contribution you will be making to a college community? Even if you have a résumé, you must still complete the Activities page of the Common App. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? If this sounds like you, then consider the following tips for how to fit more than 10 extracurriculars on your activities list. The question will often ask something straight-forward like this: "Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences." Ask students to make notes on the following: Can they demonstrate the ability to put an idea into action? There’s no hard and fast definition for what “significant involvement” looks like, but most people can work it out. The Common App activities section should be taken seriously as it is a great opportunity to highlight what makes you different from the competition. First-year. Some students are “pointy." Just because you have 16 activities you could list doesn’t mean they are all meaningful involvements worthy of a shout out on your application. Share Tweet Post Message. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points, How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer, Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests. Here are examples from top high school students. Please note: you should proceed with caution here! Even with room for up to 10 activities, don’t list more than nine. 33 Views 3 Replies 0 points Most recent by RichInPitt November 19 Common and Coalition Application. Previously, students were only given 50 characters for both the role and organization's name. The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points, How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer. Responsible for planning over 15 outdoor-related events that helped students experience the outdoors and get to know one another better. Animal Shelter Volunteer: Freshman through junior year. Ask questions; get answers. It’s fine to want to explore new interests, but it’s recommended that you have at least one activity that you would like to continue in college. hbspt.cta.load(360031, '4efd5fbd-40d7-4b12-8674-6c4f312edd05', {}); Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ethan helps students write amazing college essays by offering free resources, one-on-one essay sessions, online webinars, and in-person workshops. Important note: Make sure that the order you put them in is the order of importance they have for you according to your passions and interests. But do you know how many of them you need for your application? In charge of spring fundraiser that raised $800 to cover team travel costs. You've probably learned different but valuable things from each experience, and having a diverse range of interests shows that you're not afraid to try new things – another thing that will be viewed positively by admissions officers. Choose whatever best describes the #1 activity from the list you made previously. Don’t use it to include obvious details — dive straight into your achievements to cover as much as possible. Family activities, work experiences, and your hobbies can all fall under this category. This part of the application is difficult because you have to convey a lot of information in a relatively small space. Here is Pt. While that may have been a challenge for older generations, it should be a breeze for anyone who is familiar with using Twitter! Learn more ; This article will be updated soon to reflect the latest terminology. What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? Only fill out all 10 if you’ve made significant efforts in each of those activities listed. The first step to perfecting your Common App activities list is downsizing to include only the best and most impressive activities — ones where you made a long-term commitment, played an active role, and/or achieved significant results. Choose only the best of the best! A lot of “pointy” students with achievements in different areas will together make up a diverse student body. We can help. In it you have the chance to tell colleges more about who you are outside the classroom. If you are running out of room, feel free to lump all of those together on the application as one activity. This isn’t much, but you can maximize your use of the small spaces provided for your Common App activities. List your activities in order of importance (from most to least), and list only your most important activities. Here's a sample Common App activities list. So what do you do if, even after fine-tuning your activities list as much as possible, you are finding it difficult to stay within the 10 entry limit? It’s ok to use symbols and abbreviations (&, /, etc.) How many people did you lead? Write down any leadership roles you had – meaning any time you were responsible for the actions of other people, or had responsibilities beyond just being a participant. If necessary, you can upload a resumé to cover extracurriculars and achievements that just weren’t able to fit within the Common App. Remember that almost anything that you are actively and productively involved in can be considered an extracurricular activity. The Common App does have an “Additional Information” section, and this is the place to let admissions officers know about these really important things that you couldn’t fit elsewhere. A great looking application could have between one and three activities showing significant involvement (depending on the number of hours dedicated to each), and a few other activities with a lower level of involvement. While that isn’t bad, something different will definitely get you noticed, so don’t be afraid to include something a bit unorthodox on your list – especially if you’ve had a good achievement in it and it’s an important part of your story. This article provides tips for how seniors should go about completing the activities list for the Common App and other college applications. 1. DO list your most impressive and relevant activities near the … Preparing your Common App activities can be just as stressful as completing the personal statement and college-specific supplements. Check out our guide with four amazing extracurricular examples. Too many activities can weaken your application, making you look like a dilettante. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. If information is mysteriously missing (problems have been reported in the “Activities” and the “Current Year Courses” sections) or if your essay doesn’t look right, go back and delete your previous entries and try reentering the essay or data. Tags :activities test,common app activities,common app activities list,common app extracurricular activities,extracurricular activities,extracurricular activities for college. In the 2020-21 version of the activities list, Common App now provides 50 characters for the position you hold in an activity and 100 characters to list the organization or club's name. They have fantastic achievements in a certain area – and don’t have a lot outside that area. Admissions officers are going to be particularly interested in seeing how you have been involved in leadership positions and that you have dedicated a significant amount of time and energy to your activities. Getting started. Download it for free now: hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(360031, '688715d6-bf92-47d7-8526-4c53d1f5fe7d', {}); hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(360031, '03a85984-6dfd-4a19-93c8-5f46091f5e2b', {}); Mary Ann holds a BA in Classics and Russian from the University of Notre Dame, and an MA from University College London. Always get someone to check it over and ask for anything they can contribute. Don’t make them hunt through your list to see what your best contributions and activities are! Is it a good representation of how you've spent the past four years outside of the classroom? You have 50 characters to fill out this section. Preparing your application. For some students, the 10 spaces for Common App activities are just not enough. 55 Views 3 Replies 0 points Most recent by Meddy November 18 Common and Coalition Application. That’s absolutely fine. Choose the most important things for each activity – leadership positions, initiatives you ran, important contributions you made. 33 3. Instead of aiming to fill each blank with something inconsequential just to have it filled, make sure that everything you include reflects a significant time investment and an experience that you learned from. The name of the organization where you did the activity (if applicable). We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Telling your story. Feel free to repeat with up to nine other activities. Were there any special projects that you did or were in charge of? The Common Application used to require a short answer response of 150 words or fewer, and today many schools have retained the short answer in the supplemental essay section. Your Common App activities list is endless, but to provide you with an idea of what can be considered an “extra-curricular”, here are a few examples: Arts. How to Write About Extracurriculars on College Applications, Step 3: Have Your Parents or Friends Read Over Your List, Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Score, Admissions officers tend to like “pointy” students. Get to know the Common App and how the application works. For the 2020-21 application cycle, the Common Application essay prompts remain unchanged from the 2019-20 cycle. Get the latest articles and test prep tips! But our college admissions experts would like to point out another section of the Common Application that also … Declared Time Commitment: 2 hours per week, 16 weeks per year. For example, entity is now table and field is now column. You know why you need extracurriculars and what the admissions officers most want to see. These will be sure to help you stand out from the crowd! Back on the Activities page, check the boxes for the years that you have participated in your activity, and also select if you participated in the activity during the school year, during breaks, or all year long. This will only really be a problem for a few people, though many might initially think it’s an issue. Use these options to expand upon your activities list in a meaningful way but respect the Common App guidelines. The Common App activities list is your opportunity to provide an admissions officer with a “snapshot” of who you are as an applicant. Received "Volunteer of the Month" award in May 2017. Activity type: Community Service (Volunteer) Position/Leadership description and organization name, if applicable: Key Club: Club President; Kiwanis Coordinator (1) Details, honors won, and accomplishments: High school community service organization which I helped coordinate as Club President. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. Remember that admissions officers have a ton of reading to do, with thousands of applications in their pile. Common App is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to access, equity and integrity in the college admission process. Did you organize any activities? We support a centralized or "common" online application system for more than 800 colleges and universities worldwide that enables more than 1 million students - a third of whom are first generation - to apply to college. In the next box, you can put the Activity Name. To do this, start each line with an action verb (rather than “I”), using the present tense if it is something that you’re still participating in (e.g., “lead”) and the past tense if you are no longer involved (e.g., “led”). This is especially true when your list of activities exceeds the limit set by the Common App! A Comprehensive Guide. Emphasize the numbers of what you did. Follow these pointers for crafting a rich and memorable Common App activities page. What if you legitimately have more than ten activities you have been significantly involved in, and you feel your application would be incomplete without them? Congratulations! The more specific you are, the better picture you are painting for the admissions officer about what you actually achieved. Outdoors Club: Member for four years, vice president my senior year. Fitting more than 10 extracurriculars onto the Common App activities list is no easy feat. Be specific! Finally, check if you would like to do something similar in college. Do you think that the activities, as you have listed and described them, tell a story about who you are as a person? The activities that can be included are limited to ones that a student has done during their high school years (grade 9 through 12 for the US system, and years 10 through 13 for the UK system). If you ran the meetings but didn’t have an official title, still write it down. How many people joined the club because of you? Here's a list of hundreds of extracurricular activities you can choose from. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(360031, 'c8b8e502-c285-4182-9589-5f8ae230e78a', {}); It’s time to seriously start looking at the application and what should and shouldn't be included under the activities section. Though you haven’t tried a lot of different things, you can still turn this into a great story about having a strong passion in one area. It’s time to seriously start looking at the application and what should and shouldn't be included under the activities section. 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 … This can be a one-time thing (like organizing a food drive) or something more long-term, such as running a tutoring clinic throughout the school year. But What If You Don’t Have 10 Activities? Topic Title: Volunteer Tutor, NYC Cares. The Common App is a valuable application tool but there's a lot to it – find out how to use it, key deadlines, essay prompts and more in our guide here. If you still have 13 activities you hope to include, we have more tips for you…, Use the activity categories to your advantage. Basically, it’s an opportunity to (briefly) highlight what you have participated in outside of the classroom and how you have made an impact through your involvement. But realistically, most applicants aren't going to have such massive achievements in just one area. How to Write Your Common App Activities List This is a guest blog post written by Ethan Sawyer, The College Essay Guy . These would likely either be from your earlier years in high school before you figured out what you were really passionate about, or a lesser interest that you have dedicated a couple hours a week to. Quality over quantity will come into play as you choose which extracurriculars to feature. Let’s say you are a member of your school choir, but also actively participate in your church’s youth group choir every Sunday. This is especially true when your list of activities exceeds the limit set by the Common App! You might have a ton of activities - or not very many - and be wondering how you should write about your activities to impress college admissions readers. If you feel that the allotted text lines and drop down menus in the Activities Section are not sufficient for you, feel free to upload or send in an activities resume to accompany your application. Just like Like when writing a resume, you can use “incomplete sentences” in your activity list descriptions to maximize the amount of information you’re able to fit. If you do choose to use this space, make it clear that you are referring back to the Activity section. Here’s how to fill out the Common App Activities section for maximum impact. For some students, the 10 spaces for Common App activities are just not enough. HEY GUYS! The assumption of the admissions officers reading the application will be that the activity listed first is the most important. Read through it to make sure that you have no mistakes, that it makes sense, and that it says everything you want it to say. According to Common App, “activities may include arts, athletics, clubs, employment, personal commitments, and other pursuits.” In other words, pretty much anything pursued outside the classroom qualifies as an activity. If you’ve felt stumped by what you’re supposed to do in this section and how to make the most of your very limited space, read on. You’ll have a drop-down menu where you’ll be able to choose what kind of activity you’re going to talk about. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. Admissions officers only want to see the activities that you have been engaged in significantly. ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score, How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League, Is the ACT easier than the SAT? Instead of taking up two activity slots, you could select the activity type “Music: Vocal” and combine the groups for the title: “Alto, School Choir and Youth Group Choir.” Then, have a description that presents your overall history and any shining moments as a choir singer: “Have been performing at local competitions, charity concerts since 4th grade; at school, was selected out of 20 to sing solo at int’l competition.” (145 characters). This is a place to showcase what you’ve done outside of class. For each student, the activities section of the Common App should answer the question “What do you choose to invest your time in?” I love being the “go-to” mentor. Follow these 5 easy tips to make the most of the limited space: 1. The Common App gives you ten slots for activities, but that doesn’t mean you’re required to use every one. Almost everyone will feel like they could write more, but try to refrain from doing so unless you really feel that something very important cannot be described well enough in the space given. Your activities should be listed in order of importance to you, starting with the most important and moving down to the least important. That’s absolutely fine. For example, imagine all your extracurricular activities are related to biology. Let’s move on to the Activity Description. I studied with one girl until her Cs became As. These can be almost anything that you have done in high school, from sports, to organized clubs, to outside hobbies and interests, to work or community service. So now that you know exactly what you’ll be writing about, let’s get into the details of how to actually fill out that application. Also keep in mind that unusual activities often will stand out. Don’t try to use a full sentence here. Check out our guide with four amazing extracurricular examples. The main rule for this is to be as detailed as you can within the character limit. There are 30 activity categories, ranging from “Academic” and “Athletic” to more specific types like “Debate/Speech” and “Social Justice.” In the 2020-21 version of the activities list, Common App now provides 50 characters for the position you hold in an activity and 100 characters to list the organization or club's name. Focus on quality, not quantity. Read on for a step-by-step explanation of how to pick what activities you should write about, and how you should list them on your application. Soccer Team: Member of my high school's soccer team, played forward position. You've been on the JV team at school for four years, you play club volleyball in the off-season, and every summer you both do volleyball camps and help coach camps for younger players. It’s important that you put what’s most important to you at the top of the list so that you make it as obvious as possible to the college admissions officers. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. The Common App instructions say list your activities “in order of importance to you.” Follow this instruction. You can use this section to highlight the Ask below and we'll reply! The Best Common App Activities Example for Students Posted on July 23, 2018 July 23, 2018 by AdmissionEssayCom When I was 14, my friend and I participated in the athletics competition.
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