Colleges care about the effects on your health and well-being, safety, family circumstances, future plans, and education, including access to reliable technology and quiet study spaces. The key is to clearly demonstrate a connection between each activity and your hook. Quality is always more important than quantity when it comes to the activities you choose to add to your Activities List. 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! This means that art awards, publications, and athletic awards are all fair game. Unless the activity was high school-specific or if there is a good reason you wouldnt participate in it later on, we recommend that you mark yes.. The application asks this because colleges want to know what kind of student you will be when you arrive. It's one . 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. Your child can add up to 10 school activities on the Common App. Not all of the members of the Common App require your courses and grades. listing awards issued by national organizations above her school-level recognitions). Begin by selecting the category the activity falls under. At Command Education, we often emphasize the importance of establishing your hook otherwise known as a passion and skill set that sets you apart. There are countless ways in which you can answer how and why a college appeals to you. These are the most common activities and are seen most often by admissions committees. If you graduated from high school and continued to participate in that activity, mark post-graduate.. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. Although family is a commonly used topic, this student makes sure to have unique ideas and write in a genuine way. 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. How can you take advantage of the prompt to provide your reader with a sense of your personal growth? Or perhaps you just dont want to continue it. Instead of dabbling in a little bit of everything, we encourage our students to delve deep into activities they are particularly passionate about. Since there are many applicants with similar academic backgrounds, colleges use extracurriculars to help them differentiate and choose between applicants. 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. 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. Be sure to specify whether or not your position changed over time by notating the grade levels next to the position name in parenthesis, like so: Member (9th, 10th), Vice President (11th, 12th), Gallery Assistant (9th, 10th), Curatorial Intern (11th), It is possible that your organizations name takes up all of the allotted characters, but if it doesnt, take advantage of the extra space to include relevant information. Many schools allow score choice - where you are able to choose which SAT and ACT scores to report. Selected, cataloged, and digitized materials from 2011 to 2018 to be housed in the contemporary art archive. Publication in research papers, journals, newspapers, Any state, national or international award that you have won in high school. Alternatively, some activities like sports or school plays are seasonal. University applications are the individual application processes that schools use, independent from one another. You could also be really interested in a subject and use the opportunity to learn more about the subject. You will have a chance to indicate the timing of the activity during school year, school break, or all year and colleges will take that into consideration when evaluating the activity. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognizing you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Say you are applying to gain admission to an undergraduate business program. Coalition vs Common App: Whats the difference. 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. If relevant, your parents alma mater counts when colleges consider legacy students if you are applying to the same school. 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. Then, there are colleges that do not require standardized test scores. to find out how we can help you get accepted. Colleges do want to see that you are specialized, but you probably dont want to choose the same category for every activity. The Common Application Honors List is separate from the Activities Listit can be found under the Education Section of the Common Application. The section asks for the following information: For Activity type, the Common App provides you with a list to choose from. But, bringing people together, is easier said than done. Use active verbs and limit the use of adjectives and adverbs. 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,list your roles in order of importance rather than chronologically. If youre usually a straight-A student whose grades slipped because they had difficulty keeping up with Zoom classes, let colleges know. Keep in mind that the term "academic" is used pretty loosely in this context. If you completed an internship the summer between sophomore and junior years of high school, you would check off 10th, and so on and so forth. You do not have to be fluent in a language to add it to your. In addition to its positive impact on morale and performance, school spirit is generally fun. Because this student also has an entrepreneurial streak, she could optionally indicate a secondary interest in business if a school offers dual degrees, majors, or minors in business administration for undergraduates. For activities that are less structured, estimate the average time you devote per week. How do you complete it. They use the. You want to stand out, you want to tell your story, and share some of your biggest passions and important parts of your life. Since your list of activities should relate to the hook you are crafting throughout your application, it probably makes sense that many of the activities you currently participate in will be activities you want to participate in while youre in college. Recommended species and locations for replanting. Think about all of these logistics carefully, and you will set yourself up for success as you fill out the, The first piece that you have to fill out on the. You can find out more about them here. Lots of applicants win debate competitions. It celebrates successes and creates a sense of togetherness. . . If the activity fits into two equally specific categories, choose the more relevant one. But how do you increase school spirit? For example, you may spend 14 hours of your week attending tennis practice and taking tennis lessons, and two hours hosting a tennis clinic for elementary school students through the organization you founded. Most importantly, the activities list is one of the best places to showcase the various ways in which you have developed your hook! The majority of national universities and liberal arts colleges that are ranked in the top 100 by U.S. News (i.e., the schools listed below) accept the . Spearheaded creating a digital paper. A lot of schools have specific questions that they want to ask about your interest in their campus and course offerings specifically. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. If you are having trouble estimating your time commitment, try keeping a time log for a couple weeks and provide an average. Then, you will want to subtract weeks during which the club didnt meet. Command Group Inc. is not associated with the College Board, Common Application, or any college/university or any of its affiliates. Or, if your parents might have faced difficulties with their jobs, use this section to expand on that. Well let you know if your profile is competitive for your dream schools and give you tips on improving your profile! They should be aware not only of the theme you hope to achieve, but how they can help elevate it in their letter. Letters of Recommendation - 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. Blue checkmark. More and more, colleges are looking for indicators other than GPA and test scores to indicate strong students. #17 Best Colleges that Accept the Common App in America.University of Notre Dame. Of course, this isnt necessary for well-known awards like National Merit that are self-explanatory. The prompt states: Community disruptions such as COVID-19 and natural disasters can have deep and long-lasting impacts. You could be going up against people from your school and from your area. 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! Many schools allow you to submit a resume in addition to your application. 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. You should also be specific in defining the organization. It will not make or break your application. The high costs of attending college doesn't start your first day of school. Even listing one or two awards is better than leaving the section blank. Member of most advanced ensemble, led sectionals to teach difficult passages, performed five concerts per year. Available on iOS, Android, and Web. Work shifts at gift shop and assist customers with check out and locating merchandise. As usual, be careful when transcribing information onto the Common App. Pick people who know you best, understand your background and interests, and can provide perspective on you as a student and a person. Apply to our $10,000 No Essay Scholarship! All of the colleges you apply to within this platform will see the same information that youve filled out in the Family section or Activities section of the Common App. Theres a common misconception that only the most prestigious, well-known awards are worthy of listing on your application. Within a little over a page you have to show admissions officers what makes you a unique applicant, a good fit for their school, and tie it all to your Application Persona while displaying strong writing skills. The activities section has a limit of ten extracurricular activities. These are examples of strong activity descriptions because they provide a large amount of information in a few words. Be sure to include the following information: the name of the award, what the award was for (community service, for example), and if applicable, what place you received (1st, Bronze, etc). Admission officers want to see your academic track record, and what classes you have taken at different levels. the reader your personality and emotions instead of telling. 9, 10, 11, 12School16 hr/wk, 18 wk/yrContinue. As the application evolved over time from a paper application to online, the core of Common App's principles has never changed - promoting access, equity, and integrity, in the college admissions process for all students. Spirit boosts school spirit, event attendance, and makes communication easy. Learn how to write a strong letter of continued interest. Think about all of these logistics carefully, and you will set yourself up for success as you fill out the Common Application. Command Group Inc. and this website make no representation, promise, or guarantee that any particular result or outcome can or will be obtained. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? The Common Application is divided into different sections: In this blog, we will take a closer look at the sections and provide tips for filling out each one. . To start, you have to go to the Common Application website, and first create an account. Apply to our $10,000 No Essay Scholarship! This section matters because admissions officers at most colleges read applications geographically. There may be some activities that are naturally limited to a set time period or commitment, such as a summer academic program or sports camp. 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. It was started by 15 colleges who decided to "pool" their applications into one easily navigated application site. If you need to add more activities, use the additional information section or your essays. For example, you might spend 20 weeks during the school year attending your robotics club. Here are examples from top high school students. This is the place to indicate whether any community-based organizations such as Questbridge or Upward Bound have helped you with your application. Juniors and seniors can often fall into the trap of signing up for many clubs at their schoolbut this strategy could end up backfiring by making an application seem disingenuous. Share info about plant sales, swaps, and propagation. 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. Take advantage of this component by highlighting the best of your extracurricular activities for college applications . The club should just serve to complement the hook you have been working to develop throughout your high school career. The Common App uses a drop-down menu to help students divide their activities into preset categories. For example, youll want to write down 12th as opposed to 2020-2021, if thats the year you were in the 12th grade. Why does it captivate you? This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Provide the reader with a theme or a takeaway message. You will need: A list of your extracurricular activities. and our School Spirit. Be sure to list the most impressive/selective honors first, followed by less selective ones. You can always come back to this guide for tips and tricks, as well as visit any of the blogs linked on this blog to get more detailed information on how to approach each section. Many students will have experienced disrupted testing dates and summer programs or other plansand thats okay to unpack those obstacles here if they were significant and unique issues. Biden quoted the teacher in saying, "There's no such thing as someone else's child.". Check off the grade you were in when you received the award. ! As a result, this section only becomes available if you select one of the schools on the list. Good luck! The religious preferences drop-down menu includes many different practices along with none. Listing your religion will not hurt your chances of getting into college.
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