College admissions officers dont have the time to read large blocks of text, and its generally better to try and write less in areas where they are not asking for an essay. 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. Zach graduated from Elon University with a degree in Cinema and Television Arts. Instead, they could say something like: entertained children in the waiting room by sharing riddles and performing mathemagics; fully digitized the patient filing system. Filling out the Demographics section is optional. If you find that a particular extracurricular activity fits into multiple categories, choose the more specific one (e.g. If you hold a leadership position, emphasize that role in your description. Disciplinary information: disciplinary violation at any educational institution, misdemeanor, felony. You should ask them as early as the end of your junior year, or at the beginning of your senior year. Common App is a non-profit college access organization that helps students apply to college every year. You should order your activities in order of personal importance to you! School Spirit. Admissions officers can count and will notice if your participation hours exceed the number of hours in a week! Quality is always more important than quantity when it comes to the activities you choose to add to your Activities List. Reviewed and edited submissions for my schools newspaper, 10, 11, 12School5 hr/wk, 35 wk/yrContinue. Hover over each hot spot to learn more about each field. When hes not contributing to Scholarships360, Zach writes about travel, music, film, and culture. You absolutely do not have to fill out this section if you dont have anything else to add. Is the Activities List important for college admissions? Build these relationships as early as possible. The activities list is the part of the college applicationeither on the Common Application, Coalition Application or the UC system applicationwhere you can list and describe your extracurricular activities. and our The good news is 42% of member schools don't require an application fee, according to U.S. News & World Report. Check off the time periods during which you participated in the activity. You will need: Start collecting the documents and asking for recommendations ahead of time. When self-reporting your test scores, you must be honest. Today, Common App is a non-profit membership organization representing more than 1,000 diverse institutions of higher education. This information helps provide admissions counselors with context regarding your familial circumstances. If you say you were the Editor of your school paper in your title, you wont need to repeat that in the description. 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. Increased readership by 20. As daunting as all of the sections of the, might seem, if done right, it can help ease the process. Designed rooftop herb garden installation for restaurant. If you participate in a club, define your role, rather than just listing member. If you participated in an activity for multiple years and have had multiple roles within it. 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. Participated in multiple science-based events; 2nd place 2018 for Write It Do It, 3rd place 2019 for Meteorology. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. Roughly estimate the number of hours you devoted to an activity. Some colleges, including MIT for example, sort and read applications by citizenship. This is not to say that you cant join a new club as a junior or senior, you definitely can! They include national awards or other prestigious achievements. Some colleges have a superscore policy, which allows you to pick each of your top sub scores and combine into one superscore if you have taken a standardized test multiple times. Well give you more tips and tricks about crafting your activities list below, but lets start by discussing. Host weekly meetings, trips. If you intend to continue a particular pursuit in college, it shows them that you are truly interested and dedicated to it. In addition to its positive impact on morale and performance, school spirit is generally fun. Then, you will want to subtract weeks during which the club didnt meet. While many of these extracurricular activities are fairly general, such as Academic and School Spirit, a few of them refer to specific positions or organizations. Intrinsic to these principles is the promotion of fair, transparent, straightforward, and consistent practices in . You might have fallen ill yourselfor had to take on added responsibilities in your family because your parents were sick. All results will vary by individual and be affected by factors outside the control of Command Group Inc. dba Command Education. The prompts for the personal statement are as follows: When brainstorming your Common Application personal statement, remember your Application Persona. Coalition vs Common App: Whats the difference. Take advantage of this component by highlighting the best of your extracurricular activities for college applications . As daunting as all of the sections of the Common App might seem, if done right, it can help ease the process. Today, the Common App has grown to extremely large proportions. They include top leadership positions for well-known clubs and organizations, winning regional competitions, or state-level sports/music distinctions. Thus, demonstrating a strong hook through your Activities List is very important. Our chancing engine factors in extracurricular activities, demographic, and other holistic details. 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. Each year, more than one million students a third of . To recap, lets go over the basic dos and donts for the Common App honors section: This easy scholarship is open to all US-based high school, college, and graduate students! These examples should help you write a great Common App activities list: DECA Executive Vice President. 9, 10, 11, 12School16 hr/wk, 18 wk/yrContinue. They include general club/sports/musical membership and general volunteering. There is no specific answer that colleges are looking forit will just help them understand your background better. Alternatively, some activities like sports or school plays are seasonal. The Common Application is a streamlined application service. A commonly asked question regarding this field is how to label the activities that took place in the summer. The CommonSpirit Events app is you The satire in the fourth Voyage has been considered most distinctively Swiftian, The standard length of a residency personal statement is one page in ERAS, which equals anywhere from 500-800 words. Prospective students fill out their basic information, and the service shares the data with all of the applicant's chosen schools. Ask yourself questions. Spirit boosts school spirit, event attendance, and makes communication easy. You can then start adding your school list, and going through the sections to understand the requirements for each. This means that art awards, publications, and athletic awards are all fair game. Common App Activities List vs. UC Activities List. 4 Year,NOTRE DAME, IN,1394 Niche users give it an average review of 4 stars. You wont be harshly judged if you had significant changes to your life and academics. Highly selective universities Ivy League schools like Harvard and Cornell, for exampletend to accept the Common Application and other application types, like the Coalition application. Heres an example: You may know that the R.J. Simmons Award is given to students in your high school who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to community service, but college admissions officers have no clue. 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. Now that you have an idea of what each Common Application section is like, you are all set to begin your application process. Testing cancellations occurred for everyone, students across the world coped with online learning, and more. For example, you might spend 20 weeks during the school year attending your robotics club. Convinced school admin to implement meatless Mondays. Although students can often overlook or rush the Activities List, taking time to write an accurate, thoughtful, and well-ordered Activities List is essential for strategically framing your application and communicating your personal story. You will need: A list of your extracurricular activities. Pick people who know you best, understand your background and interests, and can provide perspective on you as a student and a person. If the activity fits into two equally specific categories, choose the more relevant one. The Profile section asks for: Make sure to fill out this section very carefully, as its easy to mix up information such as your first name and last name. Here are your choices: Academic Art In this Common App essay, they discuss their immigrant family background that motivates them. 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. Greet and direct visitors at information desk and coat check. Colleges do want to see that you are specialized, but you probably dont want to choose the same category for every activity. College Application ProcessTesting GuidesAthletic Resources Creative ResourcesSchool-Specific Guides, About UsTeamTestimonialsCareersFAQGiving BackContact Us, NEW YORK CITY750 Lexington AvenueNew York, NY 10022, SOUTH FLORIDA1 Alhambra PlazaFloor PHCoral Gables, FL 33134. Tier 4: These are the most common activities and are seen most often by admissions committees. Youre an excited high school senior ready to embark on the scary but thrilling journey of college applications, and then you encounter something known as the Common Application. If you talk about a debate competition that you almost didnt win, admissions officers might not be very engaged or impressed. 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. It could be used to provide context on whether there is a particular trend in your GPA, or whether any unforeseen circumstances, such as illness or a death in the family, impacted your school performance. While your grades and standardized test scores make up the foundation of your college application, your activities will allow you to stand out amongst the sea of applicants and could tip an application in your favor. The larger and more diverse, the more prestigious the award; international recognition is the most prestigious type of recognition. , admissions officers want to know whether you have taken classes at any college. Available on iOS, Android, and Web. 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 purpose of the robot reflects the applicants Application Persona as a student who is interested in engineering and passionate about social justice. All of these efforts show admissions officers that you took an extra step to explore a topic of your interest further than obligated at your school. You should strategically choose the ten activities you want to include in a way that highlights your hook! Rather, this serves to inform the admissions committee about your life outside school as succinctly as possible. As an applicant, there are some important choices you have to make here. Say you are applying to gain admission to an undergraduate business program. He specializes in college admissions and strives to answer important questions about higher education. A very important factor to remember is that these upcoming sections apply for all of the schools on the Common Application! As with the Activities List, this student is able to use the content in this section, even within limited space, to successfully convey her academic potential, community contributions, and artistic ability. In our example Honors section, the student has listed five awards in descending order of importance (i.e. Also read:How to write an essay about yourself. What prompted your thinking? Proofread and fact-checked over 30 pieces about environmental issues annually. Whereas the Common App Essay will show college admissions committees who your child is, the Common App Activities section will allow colleges to understand what your child has done and is doing outside of the classroom, offering one of the best opportunities to stand out among other applicants. This is a simple opportunity to show more about your interests and/or cultural background. Tier 2: These are little more common than Tier 1, but these activities still showcase high levels of achievement and leadership. If you hold a dual or non-US citizenship, you are asked to list your citizenships. The Common App began as a way to simplify the college application process for both domestic and international students. Contact us if you are interested in partnering. Your family background is a big part of providing admissions officers a greater context of who you are and where you come from. Your siblings attending the same college also counts as legacy. Provide the reader with a theme or a takeaway message. These questions can include what major you want from their list of majors, and what activities you would partake in at the college. They use the 4 Tiers of Extracurriculars: Tier 1: These are rare activities that show exceptional achievement or leadership. Award winner for writing, art, photography, music, etc. Remember that first and foremost, the prompt has been introduced for your benefit to provide colleges with a better understanding of how your life was influenced by the crisis. Talk to your guidance counselor if you have any questions about whether or not you qualify. 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. The key is to clearly demonstrate a connection between each activity and your hook. An exciting sports season is something every student can embrace, even if they are not football fans, or basketball fans, etc. Let's examine each of the questions and options so you can confidently guide your child in filling out the Common App Activities section. speaks for itself. Gold Medal from the Presidents Foundation for volunteering 200+ hrs at animal shelters. The Honors Section will prompt you to fill out 3 fields. To fill out the Common Application, make sure you have all of the information with you. Dont forget to edit and proofread. Chapter of club at high school; participated in toy and food drives, raised $1000 for refugees, made 200 cards and blankets for children in hospitals. Get valuable advice from students who have been in your shoes. Command Group Inc. is not associated with the College Board, Common Application, or any college/university or any of its affiliates. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. In 100 characters or less, you will need to describe the honors you received. You could also be really interested in a subject and use the opportunity to learn more about the subject. The world is ready for you. Abbreviating first and the title of the Engineering Fair helped reduce characters. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Studied intersections of art and environmental activism. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If relevant, your parents alma mater counts when colleges consider legacy students if you are applying to the same school. Of course, this isnt necessary for well-known awards like National Merit that are self-explanatory. Be sure to list your Honors and Awards in descending order of recognition, listing your international awards first, followed by national, state/regional and school. This section is limited to 50 characters. Then, there are colleges that do not require standardized test scores. What is the Common Application essay? 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. Be sure to list any honors you receive on your applications to maximize your chances. This is your chance to list all the great things youve accomplished during your high school years. to find out how we can help you get accepted. Admissions officers see thousands of applications every season, and they can easily identify resume fillers. Colleges want to know this kind of information so that they can understand the factors affecting your performance and opportunities this past semester. The easiest way to calculate this is to first look at your schools calendar and count the number of weeks between the first week of school and the last week of school. To start, you have to go to the Common Application website, and first create an account. You do not want to waste their time with something that could have been mentioned elsewhere in the Common App. A lot of schools that accept score choice recommend that you send all scores. Featured Review: Freshman says Notre Dame has a great school spirit and campus life. (153 characters), 1st place, NC Youth & Government, wrote and defended a bill on raising the minimum wage, Grade: 11. Many colleges value the perspective of first-generation students and look to see if you are coming from that background. 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. 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. 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. Colleges want to know this kind of information so that they can understand the factors affecting your performance and opportunities this past semester. Share info about plant sales, swaps, and propagation. If youre wondering where your extracurriculars fall within the tier system, check out our. A Letter Continued interest is a way to remind the school that you still exist, you take initiative, and above all, youre someone they will want to accept in the next round of admissions or take off the waitlist. Most importantly, it makes your students feel like they are part of a community that is bigger than themselves. The honors section of the Common App is reserved for you to list your academic honors and awards. If youre an athlete, talk about the importance of the teams spirit if it appeals to you. Your activities list is the key place you can demonstrate your hook to admissions officers. On the other hand, if you dabbled in the clarinet briefly in ninth grade before quitting, its probably a good idea to skip that one, unless you dont have a lot of activities to list. Then, there are colleges that do not require standardized test scores. In the description itself, use strong verbs and be as specific as possible. 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! The Common Application will ask you to fill out 9 fields for each activity you choose to list. Copyright 2015-2023 Command Group Inc. All rights reserved. The Common App COVID-19 question speaks for itself. University applications are the individual application processes that schools use, independent from one another. hbspt.forms.create({ portalId: "5109206",formId: "86b53e9c-69d7-4dd9-9e2e-c23476e9a906"}); Youre an excited high school senior ready to embark on the scary but thrilling journey of college applications, and then you encounter something known as the, . This usually includes holiday breaks, study and finals weeks, and sometimes, the first few weeks of the semester when clubs do not yet meet. where you are able to choose which SAT and ACT scores to report. These are examples of strong activity descriptions because they provide a large amount of information in a few words. That doesnt mean you have to continue it. Idk about other high schools but a high school in . Make it clear what your responsibilities were and highlight your key accomplishments. 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. You have to select your citizenship status from a drop-down menuwhether you are a US Citizen, a US Dual Citizen, a US Permanent Resident, a US Refugee, or non-US Citizen. The honors section is an excellent way for college admissions officers to gain an understanding of your strengths. The application asks for your proficiency so you can denote whether you can only read and write or speak the language. Describe your title to the best of your ability here - this can be as simple as Volunteer or Club Member. However, try to get specific when you can! If you want to talk about the actual tutoring in more detail, discuss your approach e.g., Meet with students one-on-one, develop study aids, and create practice examples.. for details, accomplishments, honors won, and accomplishments within each activity, so you will need to be concise and offer only the most pertinent details. This could include anything from a science award to an article in an economic journal. Your child can add up to 10 school activities on the Common App. 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. In 2020, the Common Application introduced a question for students to outline any changes in circumstances due to COVID-19. Once you have an initial list of schools to research, you can begin researching each school on your list in more depth, with the aim of both narrowing down your initial list and potentially discovering additional factors that can help you identify more schools for your list. Tier 3: These lack the distinction of Tier 1 and 2, but still highlight students interests. For more information about how colleges filter applicants, check out our post on the Academic Index. 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. Always be as specific as possible in these essays. Through the following questions, admissions officers get a substantial idea of who you are and where you are from. The Common App classifies awards by the following categories: Remember that while you should strive to complete all five entries, its not absolutely necessary. They use the. Selected, cataloged, and digitized materials from 2011 to 2018 to be housed in the contemporary art archive. Instead, they could say something like: entertained children in the waiting room by sharing riddles and performing mathemagics; fully digitized the patient filing system. The Falcon, Average High Schools Student Newspaper. Each admissions officer is assigned a particular geographical region, either according to each US state, or according to country.
