Common application is not only used by admissions committees to assess an applicant’s general appropriateness for their program, but it also allows you to exhibit the specific talents and knowledge that will help you succeed as a student.
In this blog, you’ll also find some great tips and exercises which will help you write a great common application essay and then up-level a successful Common App activities section that highlights all of your brilliance, as well as the impact you’ve had in your activities, in addition to what you’re sharing in your Common App essay prompt responses.
You’ll also find some great tips and exercises in this post to help you write and then up-level a successful Common App activities section that highlights all of your brilliance, as well as the impact you’ve had in your activities, in addition to what you’re sharing in your Common App essay prompt responses.
How Important is the Activities Section?
The Common App activities area allows you to showcase your abilities, skills, and particular instances of extracurricular activities you’ve engaged in during the previous several years at Common App universities. In the Activities section, you have the opportunity to discuss the breadth of your extracurricular activities and relevant experiences that made you a fantastic applicant for your selected universities.
Grades and test scores are used by selective universities to weed out applicants, but after that, extracurricular activities account for around 30% of your admissions decision. This demonstrates that they are nearly as significant as scholars! Colleges employ extracurricular activities to help them distinguish and choose applicants because many of them have identical academic backgrounds.
The activities list on the Common Application is limited to 150 characters. What are your strategies for making the most of them? You must make use of them. Rostrum’s team of experts can also assist you in writing the activities portion of your application in such a way that it impresses the admissions committee and gets you accepted.
Types of Activities and Positions Held
Even experienced writers will find this area of the Activities section to be the most difficult. You’ll use this area, which is limited to 150 characters, to explain the entry’s action in greater depth. Because we only have so much room to discuss significant and critical events, let’s focus on the finer elements of how to make your activity descriptions stand out.
The Common Application provides a drop-down menu from which to choose the following activities:
- Academic
- Art
- Athletics: Club
- Athletics: JV/Varsity
- Career-Oriented
- Community Service (Volunteer)
- Computer/Technology
- Cultural
- Dance
- Debate/Speech
- Environmental
- Family Responsibilities
- Foreign Exchange
- Journalism/Publication
- Junior R.O.T.C.
- LGBT
- Music: Instrumental
- Music: Vocal
- Religious
- Research
- Robotics
- School Spirit
- Science/Math
- Student Gov.t./Politics
- Theatre/Drama
- Work (paid)
- Other Club/Activity
Choose the relevant category for each action you mention in your application. Choose the more relevant category if the action falls into two equally detailed categories. If necessary, you will be able to elaborate on the description.
You will most likely discover that your activity falls under at least one of the available sections because the list is somewhat extensive. In the “Position/Leadership” description and organisation name area, choose “Other Club/Activity” if not. In this situation, your description will need to be a little more detailed unless the titles of the post and the organisation are fairly self-explanatory or highly identifiable.
Some of these extracurricular activities relate to particular jobs or organisations, while many of them are more generic, like “Academic” and “School Spirit.” For instance, “Junior R.O.T.C.” stands for Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, a federal program supported by the United States military. Therefore, you should only include that activity if you are a real member of that particular organisation.
How Many Activities Can Be Filled on Common App?
Some students are tempted to mention every extracurricular activity they’ve ever engaged in, even if it was for a short amount of time while listing extracurricular activities.
College admissions authorities, on the other hand, are more concerned with quality than number. It’s preferable to make a small list of activities to which you were fully committed rather than a long list of lesser activities.
Admissions officers want to see that you are enthusiastic about a few hobbies and have put work into developing them. Therefore, there is a cap of ten extracurricular activities in the activities section. Because of the limitations, you will have to record just the activities that are most significant to you or that you feel are most important. Use your essays or the additional information section if you need to include other activities. You should, however, only engage in these activities if they are actually necessary for the admissions committee to comprehend your extracurricular activities.
Here’s how you can decide which activities to include in your application.
The form will ask you about the grade levels you participated in, when you participated (during the school year versus during breaks), and how many hours you spent on each activity each week and each year.
Since you should only select activities that you are genuinely committed to, these questions can help you decide which ones to include. Because it shows a love for something outside of academics that you will bring to college and hopefully beyond, colleges want to see that you are dedicated to your hobbies.
One activity to put in this part would be if you were captain of your school team and spent your senior year playing tennis. However, you would not want to include a hobby which you pursued for a short time only; for example, if you played the piano in 9th grade and left it after a few months, it is better not to include that unless you do not have enough activities.
Certain activities, like a summer academic program or sports camp, could be inherently restricted to a specific time frame or commitment. Colleges recognise that some activities have an imposed beginning and end that are beyond your control, so they won’t view your brief involvement as a drawback.
They’re especially interested in leadership positions, so include any officer or captaincy titles in your resume.
It’s ideal to include at least 2-3 activities that demonstrate considerable engagement, but it’s OK to add a couple fewer major ones as well.
Students can include ten activities on the Common App, but they are not required to do so. Fill out all of them only if you’ve put sufficient effort into each of the specified activities.
10 Tips for Making Your Activities List Awesome
Let’s talk about how to make those 150 characters ring true.
1. Keep it short and sweet.
This may appear contradictory at first, especially if you’ve just finished writing your well-crafted college essay. The stringent character limits in the Common App Activities section, on the other hand, mean that you can’t afford to follow standard language and syntax norms.
What is the most important aspect of this description? Of course, various sorts of stories have been written. That’s why the closing “and more” is so unsatisfactory. Admissions committees want to know what you’ve done, not simply what you’ve implied.
The idea is to provide as much relevant material as possible while reducing dull connective tissue, as it were, in every entry in your Activities section. Always pick the most important ideas and make sure they’re read as clearly as possible without losing cohesion.
2. Prioritize quality over quantity.
In your Activities section, it’s critical to strike a balance between number and quality. What exactly does this imply? Based on the guidelines for picking activities that we will discuss later in this blog, your activities themselves should be of high “quality.” Even more important is including a quantitative description to maximise the effect of these high-quality submissions.
3. Stay away from repetition
This is a straightforward general rule that is thankfully simple to follow. Simply said, if a term or piece of information appears in one area of your activity record, it is often unnecessary to include it in another. Furthermore, if there is duplication from field to field, it will appear sloppy or badly edited.
Also, save those 150 characters for the key responsibilities and successes you had in that capacity.
4. Think Cohesively
It’s critical to think of your activities section as a whole, at the very least, in terms of planning and structure. This means arranging your activities in a way that reflects your growth as a person. There should also be an overall theme that relates to your hobbies, aspirations, and critical skills.
The order in which you prioritise activities is just as important as the ones you choose. Admissions committees will have a much tougher time separating you from the crowd if your activities are all over the place thematically and in the incorrect sequence.
Most students find that using a chronological technique to organise this material works best. Your actions should, in theory, have progressed and gotten more complex or advanced over time.
Although there is no defined place for dates in the Events section, organising your activities might assist in providing a sense of story and growth.
5. Tell a Story
Don’t just list activities. Give a brief explanation of each one’s significance to you. Was a new passion sparked by it? Did it assist you in conquering an obstacle? Employ verbs and expressions that highlight the links between your activity and a more profound personal value, interest, dedication, objective, or drive.
6. High-Impact Action Verbs Are Your Best Friends
To demonstrate your initiative, use active verbs instead of passive ones. Make sure your verbs are clear and vivid. Rather than “I was responsible for,” try “I organised,” “I mentored,” or “I spearheaded.” Look for verbs that emphasise your performative abilities and talents, such as “lead,” “investigate,” “develop,” “problem solve,” “facilitate,” “moderate,” “mentor,” and “encourage.”
If you’re stumped as to how to organise your activities in a proper chronological and methodical manner, then Rostrum’s experts can assist you.
7. Trim ruthlessly.
Because the space you’re using is so limited, the words you choose are incredibly important.
Actually, let me rephrase: Because your space is limited, your word choice is important.
One more time: Limited space demands precise wording.
See what we did there? Cut my character count from 92 to 61 to 37.
In fact…
8. Emphasize tangible, measurable impact.
Instead of: Raising funds for underprivileged kids
You should try: Raised 4,000 USD to provide uniforms and study materials for students attending the local school.
9. Avoid extreme language.
You must not use extreme language in your application; try to be diplomatic.
10. You can just list the activity and whether your role was “member” or “Participant.”
How do you write the description part for Activities Common App?
Once the activity type has been selected, the application will ask you to describe the position you held or currently hold, as well as the name of the organisation. There are only 50 characters allowed in this section.
Provide as much detail as you can. Instead of just writing “member,” if you are a part of a club, specify your function. If you have been involved in an activity for a number of years and have played a variety of roles within it, list your roles in order of significance instead of in chronological order. For instance, if you served as the class representative for the previous three years and the vice president of the student council your freshman year, put these as Vice President (1 year) and Class Representative (3 years).
You must be succinct and provide only the most important information because you have 150 characters to spare for details, successes, honours received, and accomplishments within each activity. Use the additional information box to elaborate if you absolutely need more space to fully explain really crucial aspects of the action, or if it relates to the topic you have chosen, describe it in further detail in your essay.
You have the essay to demonstrate your writing prowess; keep in mind that this portion is not meant for that purpose. Instead, provide the admissions committee with as brief an overview of your extracurricular activities as you can. Avoid using too many adjectives and adverbs and instead utilise active verbs. Complete sentences are not necessary. Within the limited space, be as descriptive as you can. In your description, highlight any leadership roles you may have.
Prioritise quantitative descriptions above qualitative ones, if possible. Including numbers provides verifiable evidence of your accomplishments and can demonstrate to colleges your unique involvement. If you are in charge of the activity, describe the number of people in the group, the number of people you serve (if any), the number of people your work has impacted, and so on.
Aim to avoid repetition, especially given the space constraints. Since colleges are likely to assume that “tutoring” is a given, you don’t need to include it in your description if you are the president of your school’s tutoring club. Instead, highlight your responsibilities as president, how you assign and manage projects, and how you collaborate with club members. Discuss your method, such as “Meet with students one-on-one, develop study aids, and create practice examples,” if you want to go into greater detail about the tutoring itself.
Participating Grade Levels
The application will inquire about the grade levels in which you took part in a certain activity. The following is the key:
9-12: High School Grades
Post-graduate: After High School
If you participated in an activity over the summer between grade levels, choose the rising or later grade level (e.g., the summer between 10th and 11th grades should be listed as “11th grade”).
Estimating Time Commitment
It’s not necessary to be precise when estimating how much time you spend on a given task. But it must be grounded in reality. Colleges will realise that you are, to put it mildly, exaggerating if you declare that you devote ten hours a week to all ten activities. It makes sense that you devote more time to some pursuits than others.
Try keeping a time diary for a few weeks and providing an average if you are experiencing problems measuring your time commitment.
Participation in College
Whether you want to continue a similar extracurricular activity in college is the final question for each activity. Colleges want to know what kind of student you will be when you arrive, which is why the application asks this. Keep in mind that they are seeking a diverse student body that includes future leaders in various disciplines. It demonstrates your genuine passion and commitment to the endeavour if you want to pursue it in college. They want to see that you are doing the activity because you are genuinely passionate about it, not merely to impress universities to a certain extent.
You don’t have to keep doing it, though. Certain activities, like a high school club, have a natural end and just cannot be modified for a college setting. Or maybe you simply don’t want to go on. However, you might want to reconsider if it is a good idea to include it in your application if it is something you are not particularly interested in.
Additionally, remember that you are not required to continue the activity after you matriculate in college simply because you want to do so now. Members of clubs, organisations, or activities you participate in may be given your name by colleges so they can get in touch with you, but you are under no obligation to join once you start college (unless, of course, you are accepted on an athletic or other scholarship that requires your participation in a certain activity). Therefore, simply responding “yes” to this question indicates your interest in carrying on with the activity.
What if you don’t have any activities for the Common App section?
Don’t worry if you don’t participate in regular extracurricular activities.
It’s time to explore outside the box and see if there was a convincing reason why you didn’t mention any activities. In high school, how did you spend your leisure time? Working? Responsibilities to your family? Is it possible to do your own research?
If that’s the case, you might want to try writing about those events and how they influenced and affected your life. These are definitely life experiences that you may write about. Consider this: If you’ve overcome a specific challenge, you stand out from the majority of pupils. This will be a strength during the college application process if you can phrase it right.
As you become older, you’ll see that people who have had to deal with difficulty are frequently more equipped to deal with disagreement and pressure. Don’t be hesitant to share your experience. Colleges are sympathetic, but only if you tell them about your situation.
There may already be a space for you to write about any “holes” in your activities, depending on the application and institution to which you are applying. As a result, think about the application’s structure and where you want to put this information.
FAQ on How to Successfully Write the Activities on the Common Application
Q. How to write an athlete JV activity list description.
A. Keep it concise and focus on the key details:
- Activity Type: Select “Athletics – Junior Varsity”
- Sport: Specify the sport (e.g., “JV Soccer”)
- Position/Role: Mention your position (e.g., “Goalkeeper”) or role (e.g., “Team Captain”)
- Time Commitment: Estimate hours per week and weeks per year
- Description: Briefly describe your contributions and any achievements (e.g., “Starting goalkeeper for the JV soccer team. Helped lead the team to a winning season.”)
Q. Can I talk about robotics in a common app
A. Absolutely you can; robotics is a great extracurricular activity to highlight; it shows that apart from theoretical sciences, you are also interested in applied stuff.
Q. What does career-oriented mean in common app
A. School spirit” activities show your involvement in and support for your school community. Examples include:
- Cheering at sporting events
- Participating in pep rallies
- Attending school dances or events
- Being a member of student government or school clubs
Q. How many activities are on the common app
A. you can list up to 10 activities on Common Application.
Q. Should I fill out all the 10 activities on Common App?
A. It is not advised to fill out all the 10 activities on the Common App. It is better to have a few well-developed activities and showcase how they have had a great influence on your personality and life.
