Crafting Your Activities List
I like puzzles. In a way, I think of an application as a giant puzzle, where I’m trying to bring together all these different pieces to form a cohesive picture of who an applicant is. Then there’s the activities list—which is like a smaller puzzle within the larger puzzle. Here, I’m charged with pulling together little snippets and details to try to understand what a student is doing outside of the classroom.
The nerd in me loves not only thinking about what applicants are involved in, but also how they choose to present that information. With so many applications to read, admission counselors need to be able to quickly evaluate what you’ve been up to. Both content and structure matter. Want to put your best foot forward in this section of the application? Here are some tips.
Let’s talk about content first…
Quality Not Quantity
You have ten spaces to include information about your activities. For some, this can feel like too many boxes. For others, it can feel like too little. Here’s what’s critical about the content of your activities list: it’s not about quantity, but quality. We want to see what activities have been most impactful to you. To what have you shown consistent commitment in terms of time (years or hours per week) or through leadership opportunities? Seeing a smaller, but thoughtful list of activities is much more impressive than a jumbled collection of all sorts of miscellaneous stuff.
It’s Not About Being Well-Rounded
While we’re on the subject of quality, not quantity… One of the biggest misconceptions out there is that colleges are looking for well-rounded student. We’re looking for well-rounded applicants, angular applicants (those who have chosen to focus on one or two activities but in a significant way), and everything in between. That means you don’t HAVE TO play or sport or do community service. You just do you and what makes you happy.
Think Broadly about the Word Activity
Your activities list does not just have to include formal clubs and organizations in which you have participated—at school or in your community—and only within your four years of high school. We absolutely want you to highlight that instrument you’ve been playing for 10 years or the fact that you journal every day. We want to know about any part-time jobs you’ve held—which are super impressive for such a young person. And, we certainly want to know about any significant family commitments you have, such as translating for your parents, helping with paying the bills, or taking care of an ill family member. We just want to know what you’re doing with your spare time.
So on to structure…
List Activities in Order of Importance to You
You should list your activities in order of importance—so that we can try to understand what matters most to you. That might be a singular research project or an activity you’ve done all four years and for which you’ve held leadership positions. Try less to think about what admission counselors would most want to see—which, I know, is a huge ask.
Treat Each Entry Like a Mini Short Answer
Of course, your activities list does not give you the space that an essay would. However, really think about the content of each entry. Include leadership positions. It’s helpful to see the progression by listing what years you held those positions. For example: Historian (10th), VP (11th), President (12th). And make sure your descriptions provide as much detail as possible. If you’re highlighting research, you should put a short description of that project. For clubs, perhaps focus on specific accomplishments you’ve completed over the course of time.
Think About Listing Like Items Together
One thing I saw a few times last year was students grouping like items together. For example, they would list all their hobbies under one entry. Or, if they were involved in miscellaneous community service activities rather than choosing to focus on one community service organization, they would list them together. Maybe you even put all of your “honors organizations” under one section (e.g. NHS and the like). This can help you save space and, again, really highly the most important stuff.
Don’t Go Beyond the Ten Entries
If I’m being honest, one of my biggest pet peeves—and I’m not alone in this—is when students continue listing additional activities under the additional essay/short answer. Completing an application, in part, is an exercise in following directions. Besides, we don’t need to know EVERYTHING you’ve ever done.
Important Note: Do use the additional info section if you want to explain something about an activity. For example, if you changed high schools, we might see that you went from one set of activities to another set of activities. Or, if you got injured, maybe you took a year off from a particular sport. And you might need a little more space to tell us about your family commitments. All of this information is absolutely fair game. We just don’t want to see a continued list of clubs, organizations, etc.
Final Thoughts
What you put on your list of activities is ultimately up to you. How you choose to present this information is almost just as important. Remember that each part of the application should say something about you. So, what will your activities list tell us?
Written by: Anne Aubert-Santelli, Associate Director - USC Office of Admission