How to Supercharge Your Common App Activity List
How to Supercharge Your Common App Activity List
Your application is only as strong as its weakest point. Every piece of writing you do, every material you submit contributes to the story of who you are that gets interpreted by an admissions officer who, in all likelihood, has not met you.
It is both expected and understandable that you will dedicate significant time to finetuning your essays; but many students neglect to put the same attention into other parts of the process, like the activity list. This is a potentially costly mistake.
Let’s take a deeper look at your activity list. It’s too late for seniors to join or start a new club or begin a personal project for the sake of enhancing your extracurricular profile. However, you can be deliberate about how you describe the things you have done, to make them shine as brightly as possible.
Focus on Your Unique Impact
Even if you weren’t president of the club or captain of the team, you’ve likely had the opportunity to influence the direction or enthusiasm of the people around you. Use the description box in your activity list to highlight these moments.
For example, if you helped find movies directed by underrepresented voices for the film club instead of the usual mainstream choices, that is noteworthy. Or if you took it upon yourself to work with the team manager after practice to get extra free throw reps in, that will likely impress an admissions officer more than simply stating you were a starter on the team.
Within each of your activities there should be evidence of you adding your personal touch to it.
Group One-Offs Together
If you’ve done more than one community service event or a similar one-off activity, group them together. Not only will this free more space for other activities, but it will tell a more compelling story about your participation.
Admissions officers want to know how you’re spending your time and what you value. If the bulk of your list is comprised of one day events or short-term commitments, it makes it harder to find a pattern of consistent action or deep investment in a cause. When that admissions officer sees the four-hour beach cleanup you did that one day in sophomore year, for example, they’ll wonder what else you’ve done to show your commitment to the environment or marine life.
Even if you can’t fill all 10 slots in your activity, be sure to infuse the most substance and the strongest narrative into each slot you do use.
Order Your List with Intention
Rank your activities based on the story you want to convey about yourself. Don’t list them randomly. Likewise, you can think beyond strict chronology. Though you may have been playing a varsity sport or a member of the drama department for the past four years, you may want to list your recent published research or new business venture higher on your activity list.
Help your admissions officer capture the essence of your contributions both in scope and sequence in a way that makes it easy for them to advocate for you.
Use Precise Language
It’s up to you to make your activity list pop. No one will fill in the blanks and search for hidden meaning or importance. Choose descriptive phrases that emphasize the nature of the work you’ve done as strongly as possible.
Avoid vague verbs. With so few characters available to you in the Common App text box, it’s imperative you use each one wisely. Wherever possible, use objective data in your descriptions as well. How many new members were you able to recruit to your club? How many students do you tutor and how large was the turnaround in their grades after your sessions?
Highlight Work in Progress
Just because something isn’t complete doesn’t mean it can’t factor positively into your activity list. Major personal projects, research, and ongoing club commitments should be included in your list as well.
Be clear to highlight the work you’ve already done and the concrete steps you have lined up to bring your project closer to completion. If you have an estimated date when your work will be done, include that too. Updating your admissions officer on your meaningful work in progress even after you’ve submitted your app is a great way to stay in touch.
Go through your activity list and elevate the quality of each item on it over the course of several drafts based on these guidelines and you can be more confident it will stand out from the pack.
The expert admissions consultants at Wise World Prep have helped hundreds of students maximize their potential of being admitted to their top choice colleges and universities. Over 20 years, we have successfully guided students through each stage of the application process – from choosing competitive high school courses to building an appropriate college list to drafting winning essays to writing persuasive update and appeals letters. We would be happy to answer your questions and partner with you to create a successful admissions roadmap.
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