Want to submit your Activities List for a final polish?
Our Advisors are here to help!
Along with writing the Common App essay, each applicant has the opportunity to submit an Activity List of up to ten (10) items along with a list of any honors and awards. Categories of activities range from volunteering to clubs and athletics, so you have a chance to round out your application with all sorts of details that admissions wouldn’t learn about anywhere else. Maybe you landed a supporting role in your school’s production of Into the Woods or didn’t, and that’s how you discovered you actually love being in the production crew instead of in the spotlight. Perhaps your hobby of bird house building turned into a full-blown business on Etsy last year. This is a great chance to showcase your unique interests and accomplishments!
Don’t be limited by the 10 items to begin with; we recommend listing as many activities as you can think of (no matter how small or seemingly insignificant!) so you can look at them all and decide how to strategically select your final list. Go for variety and unique, meaningful experiences that will make you stand out from the crowd. For instance, if you were a member of both the Business Club and the Investment Club, you could choose the one that meant the most to you or that you had a more active role in rather than listing both to make room for your role as a campus tour guide at your school.
Once you have your final 10, it’s time to follow the Activity List guidelines. Each line item has a limited character count—position (50), organization name (100), and description (150)—so you’ll need to choose your words wisely to get the most out of each entry. If you hold a leadership position in a club, such as secretary or president, that’ll be easy. But if you were a member of the club without a title, there are ways to spruce up your role and description. Were you a founding member? Did you become the de facto snack organizer? Think about your role (official and unofficial) and get creative!
Additionally, for the description, rather than just stating that you attended meetings and learned new things, take ownership of what the club accomplished. Sure, you attended the Mexican Culture Club meetings, but if the club’s purpose was to increase awareness of Hispanic culture on campus, guess what? You did that! Did the Robotics Club reach out to female students directly to increase their involvement in STEM? You did that! Don’t limit yourself to being just a warm body in a desk during meetings. Your support and involvement made that club a success, and admissions wants to know what you accomplished as a team.
Calling all athletes! Let’s huddle up and talk sports. Whether you played on your school’s JV/varsity teams or traveled with a club team, these experiences can put your dedication and personal growth on display. Did you move up from JV to varsity your sophomore year thanks to your off-season weight training? Have you finally mastered the art of the inward dive off the 10-meter board after using visualization and meditation? Let them know! Along with accomplishments and wins, athletics are a great way to show your leadership qualities. Tell admissions about how you encourage your teammates on and off the field with kind words and organize the end-of-season team camping trip. Pro tip: your position listed can be your literal position on the field (e.g., Goalie or Quarterback) but it can also include your role among your peers (e.g., Diver/Team Captain or Sprinter/Relay Anchor). Lots of applicants have played sports, but these details will help you stand out as not only an active community member, but also a leader who can be counted on.
Another way to show admissions that you are invested in your future is by listing any internships or work experience. Have you been shadowing medical professionals at a clinic? Share the qualities of the staff that you admire. Do you take to the shore every summer to work at your family’s kayak shack? What a great chance to share your family’s legacy and background. Any and all work experience can be helpful to admissions to understand the kind of person you are and who you want to be, and the key to making these experiences stand out is in your description. While you could list your position as “Employee,” why not get more specific? A waitressing job at a local diner suddenly turns into Customer Service & Hospitality, and your description of “greeting customers, communicating specials from the kitchen, and ensuring an enjoyable dining experience for up to 40 tables per shift” lets admissions know that you learned valuable skills in that role that you’ll take with you.
There are many other activity categories available to you—religious, theater/drama, environmental, community service, and more—and as long as you take stock of all of your meaningful activities and curate a list that represents the unique facets of your life, you’ll be on the right track. Remember: you want to make sure your essay and activity list are so specific to you that no one else could put their name on them. And you can achieve a stand-out Activity List by taking the time to recall and share in detail how you spend your time and what you’ve gained from each experience. Admissions is sure to take note of these qualities when considering what you’ll bring with you to their campus community.
