Cookies help us deliver our Services. It can seem like the Activities section of the Common App gives rise to the most questions, and for good reason. Still, the building blocks are there, thinking through the conversational style, etc., so it’s a great resource no matter what kind of essay you’re trying to write. Put your most time-intensive, most prestigious, and/or activities that most closely align with your intended major at the top of your activities list. If you quit something freshman year, you likely shouldn't include it at all, unless it's the most prestigious thing on your application, you didn't do many other extracurricular activities, or there are extenuating circumstances (questions? You are given 50 characters for the title/position of your extracurricular activity, and 150 characters for that activity's description/your responsibilities. Please let me know if and how you disagree. (Comment replies give helpful examples of how to phrase ECs) How to write your Common App and UC Activities Lists. Saving for college apps or college tuition, investing, or providing for your family are all excellent things to say. Ethan Sawyer: the College Essay Guy's AMA. (Even if you're not writing a mundane essay, you can bring those same components into your own essay). (This is the one external source I've added so far, because it's worth it. And yeah, you make valid points about writing the essay. The assumption of the admissions officers reading the application will be that the activity listed first is the most important. It's a better strategy than filling all 10 slots. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Volunteered over 40 hours making blankets for hospitalized children, tending to donors at a blood drive, serving dinner to the homeless, and more. Common Application Personal Statements about dead or living grandparents so often read the same. I highly don't recommend that you mention you spent it frivolously. Your child may list up to 10 activities. Member, Spanish Honors Society... and so on... As member of the National Honors Society, Spanish Honors Society and Math Honors Society, I attend monthly meetings and tutor other students. Hacking the College Essay mentions them a few times but I feel like they could have covered them more and talked through how students can develop those ideas. Avoid Admissions Deadline Traffic Jams. Man, I have no idea how I forgot about that. They’re overly wordy, confusing, and make a lot of literary puns and connections that at best are confusing, and at worst are pretentious gobbeldy gook. Create signs? Ignoring … Too many activities can weaken your application, making you look like a dilettante. Kasychakra 7 replies 1 threads New Member. Create curriculum/teaching materials? Saw this the day before I’m planning to start my common app, hooray! Write down that you have an 11 hours/week commitment, but include in your description something like "Attended 2 time-intensive tournaments" to convey that you incorporated those huge time commitments into your hours/week averages. Count the flight time, but don't count sightseeing and sleeping time. Novembrr can help. Last year I worked with a national figure skater who told me she only practiced something like ~15 hours a week, so we put 15 hours/week on her activities list. Speaking of things you quit, try not to put an activity that you quit at the top of your application. 6 of those weeks have 5 hours/week commitments, and 2 of those weeks have 30 hours/week commitments. List activities in order of importance. * Coursework other than A-G If I started asking them bizarre questions about what Spanish word they studying when they saw a lady dying all ticktockticktock like this was game show they’d probably start crying. 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. Common Application. Navigate your entire college application journey with Common App. Perhaps you'd like to move one to extracurricular activities (if you have room there). But, for the Common App activities list, you have a few options. * Work experience Again, you can use abbreviations and acronyms, but be clear in your writing. 1) You could break the experience into multiple sections say, a) research, and b) mentorship and presentations. Additional Suggestions 1. Email group members? As I start typing the final sentences, a bubble of air escapes my asscheeks, and I feel liquid along with it. Let's say you compete 8 weeks. Order of Activities. Check out my insight! Travel to tournaments every weekend? You are given 160 characters to describe your position, that activity's description, and your responsibilities. When you click on the Activities page, you’ll see a brief description of what’s expected in this section, and you can choose whether or not you have any activities that you would like to report. I just feel like all of the work he’s proud enough to feature in a book reads like a 45yo writing for a 17yo, and not doing a very good job of doing so. u/novembrr: When you're over the word count and can't for the life of you cut your essay down... u/steve_nyc: 5 Steps to Starting Your College Essay, u/mistermcneil (admissions consultant): My World-Ending Guide to the College Essay, u/Jidawg: Tips About Writing Multiple Supplements from a Sophomore @ Dartmouth, u/G0mega: Last Minute "Why X" and Supplement Advice from a Brown sophomore. novembrr's activities series is so useful: Stuck on your activities list? Question on Common App Activities hours Application Question Hi all, I realized that I didnt exclude school breaks (winter + spring) from my hours, meaning that I had an additional ~4 weeks to my time. Click yes. As you do so, you may categorize each activity. You are given 30 characters to name the organization, course, or program. First impressions count. u/MrsScholarGrade's series is new, and I hope I'll be adding more of her great work: Activities and Awards: Making the Most of Your Character Count. Even with room for up to 10 activities … steve_nyc: How to Ask Teachers for College Recommendation Letters, novembrr: The secret to having excellent LORs, ScholarGrade: How to get top LORs that stand out from the stack, novembrr: When AP Scores Matter and When They Don't (in my experience as an admissions reader at Berkeley and UChicago), u/admissionsmom: Let's Talk about your AP Score, ScholarGrade: There have been many questions about interviews. Seems like many of you have questions regarding your activities lists. I want to hear it. Activities related to the college major declared on a student's college application are most beneficial. Conversely, let's say you're short on space in the extracurricular activities section. I'm a US high school student and throughout high school I've performed research projects, both independently and with a lab, which I've presented at various conferences and … Have a differing opinion? You have to know something about the life and work of a physician to really know if it’s for you. ): Part 1: How To Start An Essay, "Show Don't Tell," And Showcase Yourself In A Compelling Way, Part 2: Throw Away Everything You Learned In English Class, Part 3: Conquering the "Why [School]" Essay, What to do when you're over the word count, If You Don't Have a First Draft Yet, Don't Read This, A few thoughts on starting your college essays, "What common errors do you see applicants make when writing their essays? Applying to College, Common App, Extracurricular Activities 9 min read Don't miss out on the best high school & college admissions resources! The activity sections are a bit different. How to Ask Teachers for College Recommendation Letters, How to get top LORs that stand out from the stack, When AP Scores Matter and When They Don't (in my experience as an admissions reader at Berkeley and UChicago), There have been many questions about interviews. Let's say twice a year you travel to national debate tournaments, accumulating tons of extra time. Led team to two state victories. Be as descriptive as possible about your responsibilities. I've read it, myself. If you think about it, this really does make sense for lots of reasons. Fr it's a great resource. Join thousands of students and parents getting exclusive high school, test prep, and college admissions information. Apply to college for the first time or transfer to complete your degree. Let’s go through the Activities section of the Common App step by step. The u/ScholarGrade Essay series (and his extras! Family activities, work experiences, and your hobbies can all fall under this category. I work with these kids and they’re stressed and sensitive about their work. Have more advice? And don't forget: Loads of things count as extracurricular activities, like guitar lessons, childcare for siblings, and much more. u/PhAnToM444: An analysis of why the "mundane topic" seems to work so well for college essays. He uses a shooty war analogy, I say they want to be the “X kid” where X is what they recognize about them as soon as they bring up their application for review. I was about to comment this lol. Put your senior year leadership position within your title and the other positions within the description. Here's my guide, novembrr: How to prepare for an interview: a guide by Novembrr, former UChicago admissions reader & alumna interviewer, admissionsmom: Up Close and Personal: The Interview. Use your characters wisely. My goal with this wasn't to give advice, but rather to share the advice of people who are more experienced than I am. List your activities in order of importance (from most to least), and list only your most important activities. u/MrsScholarGrade's series is new, and I hope I'll be adding more of … Medical school admissions committees want to see that you have taken those steps and obtained some one-on-one experience seeing how a physician interacts with patents. Art encompasses a wide variety of options for creative students. Count that time. Was your involvement in math club also volunteer based? Divide 90 by 8 and you get ~11 hours. I edit essays professionally, too, so I’m very interested in seeking “pro advice”. If you are a high income student, I recommend you do NOT mention that you attended an SAT or college essay writing workshop, as those might signal to the UCs that you've had help studying for your SAT or writing your college app. Work on your Common Application during less congested hours. If you are lower income or first generation, definitely list educational prep programs, such as you got a scholarship to attend a college essay writing camp. Traits Unique to the Common Application. If this sounds like you, please share your story. Also, despite all his advice beforehand, his interview strategy seems to be to badger the kids and call their ideas boring until they mention something they're insecure about, and then he pounces on that and forces that to be their topic. For awards and honors, be descriptive. Here's my post about LORs if you want to add it: https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/bw5h8u/rising_seniors_now_is_the_time_to_ask_about/, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the ApplyingToCollege community. (Good SAT word!) Hack the College Essay by John Dewis. 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