If you talk about a debate competition that you almost didnt win, admissions officers might not be very engaged or impressed. They can also include supplemental essays, usually asking why you want to attend their school. Created multimedia portfolio of 5 works under guidance of professional artist First Last. Do not write about middle school achievements, about others achievements, or try to accomplish too much. Higher education has never been more confusing or expensive. You can tailor your responses in the college-specific sections that come up once you have chosen a school, but the following will be sent to all of the schools on your list. For more information about how colleges filter applicants, check out our post on the Academic Index. The section asks for the following information: For Activity type, the Common App provides you with a list to choose from. Although family is a commonly used topic, this student makes sure to have unique ideas and write in a genuine way. We know that it can be tough to describe your accomplishments in such a tiny amount of space, so well provide some advice for that later on. Or perhaps you just dont want to continue it. Not all of the members of the Common App require your courses and grades. Many high school students dont know exactly what they want to do. Be as specific as you can be in the space available. So by answering yes to this question, you are merely indicating that you are interested in continuing the activity. . The Common Application is divided into different sections: In this blog, we will take a closer look at the sections and provide tips for filling out each one. This enables you to have a certain degree of agency as to which scores colleges see. If youre an athlete, talk about the importance of the teams spirit if it appeals to you. Timing of participation: all year, summer, school break, etc. If you claim to spend ten hours per week on all ten activities, colleges will know youre exaggerating, to say the least. However, If you experienced bigger problems as a result of the pandemic, provide context for your circumstances, whether its unemployment or lack of learning resources at home. The better your recommender understands what you are aiming for in your application, the stronger their letter will be. The Profile section helps the admission officers get an overview of your background. A very important factor to remember is that these upcoming sections apply for all of the schools on the Common Application! As daunting as all of the sections of the Common App might seem, if done right, it can help ease the process. They include top leadership positions for well-known clubs and organizations, winning regional competitions, or state-level sports/music distinctions. These are the most common activities and are seen most often by admissions committees. that is best for you), or tests based on what youve studied in high school, such as the AP or IB, or tests which show your English language proficiency, such as IELTS or TOEFL. It is very important that your description should make clear what your specific impact or contribution is or was, as opposed to what the organizations members did as a group. This section is also for admissions officers to find out if your parents went to college, what your parents do, and their current position. If you hold a leadership position, emphasize that role in your description. Zach graduated from Elon University with a degree in Cinema and Television Arts. The, In this blog, we will take a closer look at the sections and provide tips for filling out each one. . You will be able to expand in the description if needed. They want to know if you were raised by a single parent, whether you grew up in a divorced home, whether one of your parents has passed away. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. You can list up to five honors, and for each one youll be asked to provide a brief description (100 characters or less). Roughly estimate the number of hours you devoted to an activity. Adding numerical values offers concrete proof of your success. How to fill out the Common App Activities section. These examples should help you write a great Common App activities list: DECA Executive Vice President. Below, youll find more examples about how to make the most of each field to highlight your potential! Tier 3: These lack the distinction of Tier 1 and 2, but still highlight students interests. If you are having trouble estimating your time commitment, try keeping a time log for a couple weeks and provide an average. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? Even listing one or two awards is better than leaving the section blank. The activities list is an excellent opportunity to brag about your accomplishments, as well as the talents and skills that you have developed outside of the classroom along the way. Therefore, it will be necessary to abbreviate when possible and include only the most illuminating information. Not only does doing so allow you to include more extracurricular activities, but also provides more space for you to expand on the descriptions of your activities since you are not limited to a certain number of characters. Contact us if you are interested in partnering. For instance, if you are the president of the tutoring club at your school, you dont need to list tutoring in the description, since colleges are likely to consider that a given; instead, emphasize your duties as president, how you manage and distribute tasks and how you work with club members. What is the Common Application essay? It's one . Junior R.O.T.C., for example, refers to Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, a Federal Program sponsored by the U.S. Armed Forces. The contact details section lets you add your preferred phone number, as well as any alternate numbers where you can be reached. If you find that a particular extracurricular activity fits into multiple categories, choose the more specific one (e.g. If you are unsure which level of recognition to select, you can often determine information about the scope of the award on the award organizations affiliate website! can be daunting. This example does not elaborate on what the student did, nor does it show what they learned from their time at the hospital. Quality is always more important than quantity when it comes to the activities you choose to add to your Activities List. section is straight-forward. It creates school pride, brings together the student body and generates excitement on campus! Well let you know what your chances are at your dream schools and how to improve your chances! You might have fallen ill yourselfor had to take on added responsibilities in your family because your parents were sick. This student was admitted to Dartmouth College. Check off the time periods during which you participated in the activity. asks you how many times you took the standardized test of your choice. Then, you will want to subtract weeks during which the club didnt meet. If it seems like you are choosing one category for everything, try to diversify a bit and think about how activities can be related without being exactly the same thing. If that is the case, refer to your practice or game schedule or estimate based on the semester schedule. The Testing section asks you to self-report any tests you have taken, whether standardized tests such as the SAT or ACT (. School spirit activity is one of the best ways to bring students and teachers together in a positive learning environment. Always be as specific as possible in these essays. Because this student also has an entrepreneurial streak, she could optionally indicate a secondary interest in business if a school offers dual degrees, majors, or minors in business administration for undergraduates. Well give you more tips and tricks about crafting your activities list below, but lets start by discussing. They can also include supplemental essays, usually asking why you want to attend their school. Commonly listed activities include participating in school clubs, playing an instrument, playing a sport, attending pre-college summer programs, volunteering, and many others. Today, students can use the Common App to apply to over 1,000 colleges and universities. As the application evolved over time from a paper application to online, the core of Common Apps principles has never changed promoting access, equity, and integrity, in the college admissions process for all students. Intrinsic to these principles is the promotion of fair, transparent, straightforward, and consistent practices in admissions. Commonly listed activities include participating in school clubs, playing an instrument, playing a sport, attending pre-college summer programs, volunteering, and many others. A student who is interested in business and starting her own company one day can select Business owner as part of the Future Plans section. Apply to our $10,000 No Essay Scholarship! Explain what the circumstance was so that admissions officers know whether it was for preference for something different than your previous school lacked, such as in the example below, or if it was something you had no control over, such as family obligations. The Common App uses a drop-down menu to help students divide their activities into preset categories. Just make sure to practice good judgement when it comes to the Additional Information section. Colleges care about the effects on your health and well-being, safety, family circumstances, future plans, and education, including access to reliable technology and quiet study spaces. If youre have trouble figuring out how to word your activity descriptions, here is a table of action words that you can use: The application will ask you in which grade levels you participated in a particular activity. Read on for tips on completing the honors section. This ensures that all of our content is up-to-date, useful, accurate, and thorough. School Specific Essays - A lot of schools have specific questions that they want to ask about your interest in their campus and course offerings specifically. We connect applicants and those who support them to a wide array of public and private colleges and universities across all 50 U.S. states, and 20 countries. Think about. The Profile section asks for: If you qualify for the fee waiver, dont hesitate to check the box. You might not have been expecting to talk about your religious preferences or feel comfortable doing so. speaks for itself. Therefore, do not write anything thats specific to any one of the schools. List your activities in order of importance. Many schools allow you to submit a resume in addition to your application. Selected, cataloged, and digitized materials from 2011 to 2018 to be housed in the contemporary art archive. Be as descriptive as possible within the confines of the character limit, and avoid acronyms or abbreviations if possible. Remember that this section is not there for you to prove your eloquence as a writer; you have the essay to do that. If the activity fits into two equally specific categories, choose the more relevant one. These questions can include what major you want from their list of majors, and what activities you would partake in at the college. Some schools still maintain proprietary applications or use other application systems. For any activities that fall outside the predefined categories, which are listed below, just select Other Club/Activity. The world is ready for you. Pick people who know you best, understand your background and interests, and can provide perspective on you as a student and a person. For more information, please see our Leaving the answer as Undecided will show admissions officers that you have not put much thought into your interests or future career choices. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. 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 Family Responsibilities Foreign Exchange Journalism/Publication Junior R.O.T.C. This is not to say that you cant join a new club as a junior or senior, you definitely can! Run dog-walking service with my siblings for neighbors in apartment complex. The Common Application is a streamlined application service. School Spirit. You dont need to use complete sentences. The Grades section asks for your class size and class rank (if you have one) for more context on your student body. Students, teachers, and community members download the Spirit app and are instantly connected to your extra-curricular world. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. Additionally, college admissions officers will view your extracurricular involvement as a good indicator of how well you might function as a member of your future college community, and afterwards, how you might perform in the real world, since commitment to your activities will allow you to demonstrate time management skills, drive and commitment, and a genuine interest in the world around you. Idk about other high schools but a high school in . They include minor leadership positions for well-known clubs and organizations and smaller athletic/musical distinctions. If you had to relocate, admissions officers want to know this to see how the move might have affected your performance. The larger and more diverse, the more prestigious the award; international recognition is the most prestigious type of recognition. You are limited to 150 characters for details, accomplishments, honors won, and accomplishments within each activity, so you will need to be concise and offer only the most pertinent details. For example, if you were Student Council Vice President freshman year and a class representative the other three years, list these out as: Vice President (1 yr), Class Representative (3 yrs). In addition to a top-tier, rigorous education you can also enjoy your time at college. An outstanding Activities List should invariably help admissions officers grasp who you are, what is important to you, and how you have spent your time learning and serving others in your community during high school. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. If you completed an internship the summer between sophomore and junior years of high school, you would check off 10th, and so on and so forth. Sell prints and stickers with $500+ in profits. While the Common Application Activities List and UC Activities List serve similar purposes for admissions committees, there are differences in the ways they are completed. Host weekly meetings, trips. Prospective students fill out their basic information, and the service shares the data with all of the applicant's chosen schools. What are extracurriculars and why do they matter? Within 250 words, you have the opportunity to inform colleges whether the Coronavirus outbreak and social distancing protocols affected your health, family life, and learning abilities. Privacy Policy. Not only does doing so allow you to include more extracurricular activities, but also provides more space for you to expand on the descriptions of your activities since you are not limited to a certain number of characters. Today, the Common App has grown to extremely large proportions. Gold Medal from the Presidents Foundation for volunteering 200+ hrs at animal shelters. Also, remember that you dont have to list ten activities just because the space is available; some require much more of a commitment than others, so its okay if you only have 5 activities that are time intensive and mean a lot to you. Tags :applying to college,common application,Personal Statement,common app guide,how to fill the common app. Organized inaugural Green Week with themed activities and prizes. Be as specific as possible here. A hook is typically thought of as a well-developed record of distinctive achievements, activities, and service in one or two specific areas of interest. Those word limits and guidelines exist for a reason. Colleges do want to see that you are specialized, but you probably dont want to choose the same category for every activity. You may want to start by watching the short tutorial video available at the top of the section to get started. If youre usually a straight-A student whose grades slipped because they had difficulty keeping up with Zoom classes, let colleges know. Beyond the number of slots for activities and awards, there are also differences in the corresponding information students must provide for each activity and award. Abbreviating first and the title of the Engineering Fair helped reduce characters. Ask yourself questions. Many students will have experienced disrupted testing dates and summer programs or other plansand thats okay to unpack those obstacles here if they were significant and unique issues. Your teachers, guidance counselors, and other recommenders can submit their letters of recommendation directly on the Common Appyou will invite them to contribute through the application platform. These courses are also a good way to balance out your grades if you are not happy with them. Some activities have a natural end and simply arent adaptable to a college environment, such as a club particular to your high school. Your family background is a big part of providing admissions officers a greater context of who you are and where you come from. Be sure to prioritize personal importance over quantity of time. Today, Common App is a non-profit membership organization representing more than 1,000 diverse institutions of higher education. The purpose of the robot reflects the applicants Application Persona as a student who is interested in engineering and passionate about social justice. Not only has she pursued multiple activities in both environmental science and art, but she has also found and studied creative intersections between these fields, through painting murals at local gardens, featuring and selling her nature photography on her personal social media, and studying environmental art at a summer program. The Testing section asks you to self-report any tests you have taken, whether standardized tests such as the SAT or ACT (choose the one that is best for you), or tests based on what youve studied in high school, such as the AP or IB, or tests which show your English language proficiency, such as IELTS or TOEFL. While extracurriculars might seem subjective, colleges are methodical in their evaluation of them. To delete an activity, move it to the bottom of the list and click on the delete icon. If you usually spend 2 hours a week with this club, but have 3 weeks during the height of tournament season during which you spend 15 hours with the club, you can list your hours per week as 4 since your weekly average comes out to 3.95 hours. We may receive commission from links on our website, but that doesnt affect our editors opinions. The Honors section allows you to show a snapshot of how you excelled on a local, national, or international level. Work shifts at gift shop and assist customers with check out and locating merchandise. The Common App activities list is the very best place to express your persona with some direct assertiveness. Get valuable advice from students who have been in your shoes. The Falcon, Average High Schools Student Newspaper. They include national awards or other prestigious achievements. Colleges want to know this kind of information so that they can understand the factors affecting your performance and opportunities this past semester. Rather, this serves to inform the admissions committee about your life outside school as succinctly as possible. . Colleges are of course free to support other practices outside the Common App, but the Common App works to support practices that have been found to be easy to administer and understand for hundreds of colleges and millions of applicants over the years. Alternatively, some activities like sports or school plays are seasonal. They include minor leadership positions for well-known clubs and organizations and smaller athletic/musical distinctions. Investing time and effort into this important component of the Common App will truly increase the quality of your college applications, while also being a satisfying exercise in looking back at your accomplishments and growth over the past three years! A volunteering club at Average High School simply called Hilltop is better referred to as Average High School Hilltop Volunteers or Hilltop Volunteering Club of Average High School. If youre including an independent activity such as painting for local arts competitions, your title and position could read: Artist, Self-Directed Oil Painting. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. Moreover, make sure your recommender is someone who takes the time to sit down with you, has time to dedicate to a careful letter, and is enthusiastic and excited about your application. as early as possible. The club should just serve to complement the hook you have been working to develop throughout your high school career. Thus, taking the SAT 5 times and getting a strong score does not help your application stand out! Its important to craft your activities list descriptions in such a way that they relate to your hook, as well as to your academic and career goals. <p>One of the things we were told to look for during . The application asks this because colleges want to know what kind of student you will be when you arrive. Now that you have an idea of what each Common Application section is like, you are all set to begin your application process. Honors, whether they are academic, community-oriented, or relate to an extracurricular, show that a student has made an impact and shown potential that goes beyond the numbers. Your activities list is the key place you can demonstrate your hook to admissions officers. This means that art awards, publications, and athletic awards are all fair game. For example, if the school youre applying to is a liberal arts college, you can highlight how the community or small faculty to student ratio appeals to you. You should ask them as early as the end of your junior year, or at the beginning of your senior year. Additionally, if you have participated in related activities, colleges will see the pattern of your interest and commitment. His work has been published in Our State Magazine, Ladygunn Magazine, The Nocturnal Times, and The Lexington Dispatch. All of the colleges you apply to within this platform will see the same information that youve filled out in the Family section or Activities section of the Common App. You do this through the drop down list of 30 classifications for your activities. This fictional student demonstrates a strong hook in environmental science and art. Why is it important? Here are your choices: Academic Art Share info about plant sales, swaps, and propagation. Recommended species and locations for replanting. Activities that you can include on this list are: sports, community service, employment, religious activities (such as teaching Sunday school), internships (paid or unpaid), arts, hobbies (for example, biking or stacking competitions), school clubs, academic competitions, and basically anything else that you spend time doing outside of school. If youre wondering where your extracurriculars fall within the tier system, check out our free Chancing Engine. If you need it, this space is yours to describe those impacts. Studied intersections of art and environmental activism. The Common App COVID-19 question speaks for itself. This section allows you to put in a nickname if applicable, your name in another language if you have one, and if youve used any other names previously. They use the 4 Tiers of Extracurriculars: Tier 1: These are rare activities that show exceptional achievement or leadership. This information helps provide admissions counselors with context regarding your familial circumstances. A general rule of thumb is that national awards should be listed first, followed by state, local, and school awards. Also read:How to complete the Common App Activities Section. This is your chance to list all the great things youve accomplished during your high school years. But how do you increase school spirit? and our Do not rush through these details. In this case, unless the position and organization names are fairly self-explanatory or very recognizable, you will need to be a bit more specific in your description. Check off the grade you were in when you received the award. He specializes in college admissions and strives to answer important questions about higher education. Currently, due to COVID-19, standardized tests have become optional in many schools. Admission officers want to see your academic track record, and what classes you have taken at different levels. The restrictions mean you will need to be selective in reporting your activities, limiting you to the most important ones or those that are most meaningful to you. The Common Application allows students to list 10 activities and 5 honors and awards separately, while the UC application allows students 20 spaces in total for both activities and awards.
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