How to Fill Out the Common App Activities Section

The Importance of the Activities Section in the Common App

The activities section of the Common Application is a crucial component of your college application. It provides admissions officers with insight into your interests, skills, and how you spend your time outside of academics. This section allows you to showcase your personality, leadership abilities, and commitment to your passions. A well-crafted activities section can set you apart from other applicants and showcase your "theme", making it essential to approach this task thoughtfully.

Step 1: Compile Your Activities in a Google Doc

Before diving into writing descriptions, gather all your extracurricular activities, volunteer work, employment, and any other relevant experiences. Create a Google Doc to list these activities. This will help you organize your thoughts and ensure you don’t overlook any significant experiences.

• This can include clubs, work, sports, summer programs, internships, passion projects, and volunteer work

• Under each activity, write out any positions you held, an accurate assessment of the number of hours you spent on this activity per week, and any significant accomplishments related to this activity

• Once you've written out everything, narrow down your list to ten activities, eliminating those with less than 5 hours in total, those that don't hold much significance, or combine multiple activities into one

• Tip: include activities like work or family responsibilities, which showcase important skills!

Step 2: Write Descriptions for Each Activity

Once you have your list, it’s time to write concise and impactful descriptions for each activity. Aim for clarity and specificity, focusing on your role, the skills you developed, and the impact of your contributions. Keep in mind that you have a limited number of characters (up to 150 for each description), so make every word count.

• Use Strong verbs: look up "college essay guy's epic list of activities list verbs"

• Quantify your impact: use numbers! How many people did you help? How many items did you create?

• Demonstrate skills and values: What did you do day to day? What problems did you solve? What skills did you develop? What impact did you have?

• Tip: Don't write in sentences and don't state the obvious!

  
  

Examples of Activity Descriptions

• Example of a Bad Description:

  Member, Debate

  debated topics, attended tournaments, and researched topics

• Here's an example of a Good description:

  Lead research + case writing, mentored 5+ debate students, organized 4 mock debates, hosted 3 annual debate tournaments, See Add'l info for Awards

• Why it's good: Quantifies impact, uses impressive verbs, doesn't state the obvious, concise

• Tip: Can add specific awards in additional info section (just not too many)

  
  

Step 3: Put Your Activities in Order

After writing descriptions, it’s essential to prioritize your activities. The Common App allows you to list up to 10 activities, so select those that best showcase your strengths and interests. They tell you to list activities in order of importance to you, don't do this. Rank your activities based on:

1. Amount of time spent

2. Important roles held (President etc.)

3. Amount of impact: large passion project etc.

4. Tip: Rank similar activities together: volunteering, sports, etc. (especially if it fits with your theme)

   
   

Step 4: Input Your Activities into the Common App

With your activities organized and described, it's time to input them into the Common Application. Follow these steps:

• Log in to your Common App account.

• Navigate to the "Activities" section.

• Enter the title of each activity, your position, and the organization.

• Copy and paste your descriptions from your Google Doc, ensuring they fit within the character limits.

• Review for any errors or formatting issues before finalizing your entries (click "preview" to see what it will look like when submitted)

  
  

Conclusion

Filling out the activities section of the Common App is an opportunity to present a picture of who you are beyond your academic achievements. By carefully compiling, describing, and organizing your activities, you can create a compelling narrative that highlights your unique contributions and interests. Take the time to reflect on your experiences, and you’ll be better equipped to impress admissions officers with your application.