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Ten Tips: How to Write Your Common App Activities List, Meet Ethan Sawyer, College Essay Guy

Do Something Awesome; Share With A Friend Who May Benefit

We are so excited to introduce Ethan Sawyer, the College Essay Guy . On the College Essay Guy’s site, you will find all things related to college essay writing, (personal statement), tips, common app, free resources, classes and more. Stop by his site to see why you will love his site as much as I do (he’s personal, warm, empathetic and his classes are unparalleled. Also, he has a ton of FREE resources).

Here is a great starting article about the common app activities list.

10 Tips: How to Write Your Common App Activities List

You only get 150 characters: how do you make the most of them? Some tips:

1. State role and organization name in top box, so you don’t waste characters in the lower, 160 character box. Instead of: (top box) School newspaper (description box) I am the editor for the school newspaper ( And don’t repeat words!)

Try: (top box) Editor of International Column, School Newspaper (description box) Responsible for brainstorming, revising, and supervising articles by other writers for my column.

2. Emphasize tangible, measurable impact .  Whom did your activity help? How many people? How much money did you raise?

Instead of: Raised money for children in Africa. Try: Raised $3,000 to provide three uniforms and scholarships for students attending the Joseph Waweru Home School in Kenya (http://www.exop.org/home_school.html).

Instead of: Worked at a clinic doing different things. Try: Organized patient diagnosis notes, sterilized tools for surgeries, assisted with x-ray analysis.

4. To fit in more info: use lists , don’t use complete sentences , cut extra words . Instead of: I raised money to donate to a school in Ghana in Africa by selling t-shirts and bracelets. Try: Arranged advertising events, organized fundraisers, and gave presentations at school meetings.

5. Use the present tense if it’s something you still do. Instead of: I helped tour visitors around the campus and presented some information on school history and student life. Try: I give campus tours, providing info on school history, student activities, boarding life.

6. Aim for variety in your list, making sure your verbs aren’t redundant. Instead of: Instructing, helping, teaching children tennis (how are these three different?) Try: Instructing in proper technique, while imparting lessons in sportsmanship, health and integrity.

7. Include any responsibilities you had to demonstrate leadership skills . Instead of: I swim on the swim team. Try: Responsible for leading swim practices, planning fundraising events; assisting in recruiting process.

8. What if there isn’t much to say, or it was a one-time event?

Explain the significance of the activity: who did the event matter to and why? Rather than: Tutored students. Try: Provided support to fourth graders with particularly difficult math concepts.

Continue reading this list over at the College Essay Guy . In addition, be sure to check out his new course: How to Write a Personal Statement . This course includes seven videos and is 100% guaranteed. The fee is only $149.00 and if you cannot afford it, contact Ethan about his pay-what-you-can program. Yes, pay what you can.

And did I mention he has the #1 Selling College Essay Book in the country right now? Yes, he does.

About: Ethan Sawyer is a nationally recognized college essay expert and sought-after speaker. Each year he helps thousands of students and counselors through his online courses, workshops, articles, products, and books, and works privately with a small number of students. 

Raised in Spain, Ecuador, and Colombia, Ethan has studied at seventeen different schools and has worked as a teacher, curriculum writer, voice actor, motivational speaker, community organizer, and truck driver. He is a certified Myers-Briggs® specialist, and his type (ENFJ) will tell you that he will show up on time, that he’ll be excited to meet you, and that, more than anything, he is committed to—and an expert in—helping you realize your potential. 

A graduate of Northwestern University, Ethan holds an MFA from UC Irvine and two counseling certificates. He lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife, Veronica, and their amazing daughter, Zola.

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How to Complete the Common App Activities Section

October 3, 2022

For all of the first-class treatment applicants give to their Common App essay, the Common App Activities Section is all too often relegated to steerage. If antiquated steamship analogies do little for you, a more apropos comparison might present the essay as the mean, attention-hogging prom queen in a teen movie, and the activities list as the nice, quiet girl, who also looks like a model, but no one notices because she has glasses and wears her hair up.

You get the point—a poorly crafted activities list is one of the most common issues we encounter when working with students, even those with Ivy-caliber credentials and otherwise flawless applications. Yet, as already alluded to, this list rarely receives appropriate attention from applicants, perhaps because it, rather deceptively, appears to be a fairly rote exercise; more of a chore of filling in boxes than an opportunity to tell a unique and compelling story.

In the following article, we provide answers to the many common questions associated with the process including:

• What activities should I include on my Common App activities section?
• Which activities should go at the top of the Common App activities section?
• How do I write a description of an activity?
• What should I do if I run out of space describing an activity?
• Does a Common App activities list have to be well-written?

Our five rules articulated below will get you ready to tackle this often underestimated component of the college application process.

Common App Activities Section Rule #1: Ask—why are you including this activity?

Perhaps humans simply possess an unstoppable psychological drive to fill any blank space they see with something, anything. It would certainly explain much of the modern experience: 24-hour news, suburban sprawl, or that one drawer in your kitchen that is overflowing with useless items you can’t bring yourself to throw away (C’mon, you know that Krazy Glue dried out six years ago and what are those watch batteries even for? No one in your house has owned a watch since 2004).

A similar compulsion rears its head when students see an activities list with ten blank templates. Your first thought is, “Okay, I’m going to fill these ten spots even if I have to include the ten seconds last week when I picked up a stray Sierra Mist can off of the sidewalk and tossed it in the recycling bin. That can count as volunteer work, right?”

When it comes to your activities section, we recommend being judicious with what you include. Having fewer than ten activities is not going to hurt your chances at admission—seriously, we promise. As you start to brainstorm which activities to include on your list, begin by asking:

How do I spend my time currently?

How have i spent my time throughout high school (both in and outside of school), what have i done in the past or currently that communicates something about who i am, what i’m proud of, and what i’ve accomplished.

The activities that come to mind could include clubs, volunteer work, paid employment, athletics, or musical/artistic/theatrical pursuits. The best activities to include are ones that you’ve engaged with on a regular basis over an extended period of time. For example, volunteering at a soup kitchen for a summer or on a weekly basis through your place of worship should definitely be included; volunteering once for 45 minutes might not make the cut.

  Rule #2: Understand the order of operations 

In math, we remember the order of operations through the presumably embarrassing behavior of our Dear Aunt Sally (please excuse her). To date, no helpful mnemonic exists for the order in which you should list activities on your Common App, yet it is extremely important to master the rules of this game. One frequent move is listing your activities in pure chronological order (or straight reverse chronological order) which is highly problematic. If you were asked to succinctly tell someone a captivating version of your life you wouldn’t lead off with:

Baby/Toddler, 2002-2005 Passed meconium, cried, cried some more, mastered object-permanence, etc .

Putting your most important activities first is the way to go. This may flow in something close to a reverse chronological order since the activities that most demonstrate your passion, leadership, and abilities are likely ones that you stuck with over the years. While there may be no hard and fast set of rules telling you to address parenthesis before exponents, there is a correct thought-process to adopt while ordering your activities.

Sample thought process…

Meet Mark. He was the vice-president of his class as a freshman but became disillusioned with the seedy world of high school politics and never participated in student government again. Since his foray into public service ended at age 14, even though his title of VP was impressive, this would make a poor choice to sit atop his list, Mark next turned his attention to the mock trial and tennis teams, both of which he continued through his senior year. In fact, as a junior, his team qualified for the National High School Mock Trail Championship. Further, he plans to continue debate into college. As a senior, Mark is on the varsity tennis team—he’s not talented enough to be NCAA material but is interested in joining a club team.

As we help Mark decide how to order these three activities, let’s review some important considerations. We are looking to give preference for activities that…

• You plan to continue in college.
• Demonstrate commitment and dedication.
• You have participated in state or national-level competitions (winning something is always a huge bonus).
• Show off your leadership skills.
• Are recent.

With these rules in mind, we can determine that Mark should put Mock Trial first—it’s something he plans to continue in college, has participated in a national competition, has been involved with for three years and is still, presently doing. Tennis should come second, since he has shown dedication to the sport and may play at a club or intramural level at college. While vice president of his class was the most impressive title he ever held, it was only for one year in 9th grade, making it the clear third place entry in this activities list.

Rule #3: Use your limited space wisely

A famous, albeit likely apocryphal stor y, goes like this: Ernest Hemingway is having lunch with his buddies and bets them that he can craft a complete story in six words. He wins by scribbling six words on a napkin: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Putting aside the earth-shatteringly depressing nature of the story, it is a great example of the power of words in a limited space. Plenty of 100,000 word novels have failed to communicate as much as those six words. Hold yourself to a high standard in this regard and tighten up your sentences. Maximize the impact of what you say through the use of active verbs. Lop off extraneous words and get right to the point. Include pertinent details that make your description less generic and better highlight your achievements.

Bad Example: Money was raised by my organization when we put on a 24-hour relay leading to many donations to a charity which works to cure pediatric cancer.

Improved Example: Organized 24-hour relay, attended by 300+ community members, raised over $6,000 for pediatric cancer research.

Rule #4: Use the fields strategically  

You only have a precious 150 characters with which to demonstrate your duties and achievements with each activity. Many students make the mistake of restating (or stating for the first time), their role, the name of the organization, or the years in which they participated in the description box. The smarter move is to instead state all of this information in the 50 character “Activity Name” section. This can also be accomplished through the checkboxes provided in which to indicate your years of participation.

Avoiding redundancy will save you space and allow you to properly flesh out your description of what you actually did that is impressive. Here’s an example of a right and wrong way to execute this strategy:

Activity Name: Editor, The Muse Literary Magazine

Grades: 10-12

Wasteful Activity Description: Edited poems and works of fiction for The Muse , our high school’s literary magazine, from sophomore year to present.

As you can see, most of the 150 character space to show-off achievements was wasted with information that was already stated elsewhere.

• We already know that you were the editor from your title.
• We already know that you edited The Muse and this is your school’s lit mag.
• You already checked off that you participated in the activity from 10 th -12 th

Better Activity Description: Managed staff of seven students in creating monthly periodical; earned First Class Distinction from National Council for Teachers of English in 2018.

Common App Activities Section Rule #5: Don’t ignore the rules of writing

For whatever reason, even the sharpest applicants tend to eschew the conventions of good writing. Perhaps it is the similar character count to Twitter that seems to invite a “covfefe”-like outpouring of poor grammar, awkward syntax, and a display of weak vocabulary. Here are some key things to remember, based on errors we frequently see students make.

• Use present tense if you are currently engaged in an activity.
• Don’t get repetitive. There is no shame in Googling synonyms if you have to.
• Use your normal, intelligent-person vocabulary even if your description is in list form.
• Proofread your list carefully. It may require multiple reads to catch all of your typos in this unusual format.

College Transitions’ Final Thoughts

• Select the school-based and outside activities that say the most about who you are and how you spend your time.
• Place your activities in an order that highlights your commitment, dedication, talent, and accomplishments. Activities that you are presently engaged with and/or are planning on continuing in college should take precedence.
• Communicate as much as you can in limited space. Avoid clunky, space-eating phrases, use active verbs, and replace generic statements with specific details.
• Take full advantage of the “Activity Name” field to better utilize your space in the “Activity Description.”
• Craft and proofread this section with every bit as much care as your essay.

Follow these simple rules and, in the end, your activities list will take off its glasses, let down its hair and become the envy of the whole prom. Oh yeah, and admissions officers will like it too.

If you are looking for tips on completing the Honors Section, visit our blog: How to Complete the Honors Section of the Common App.

• Application Strategies
• College Essay

Andrew Belasco

A licensed counselor and published researcher, Andrew's experience in the field of college admissions and transition spans two decades. He has previously served as a high school counselor, consultant and author for Kaplan Test Prep, and advisor to U.S. Congress, reporting on issues related to college admissions and financial aid.

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How to Write Your Common App Activities List

This is a guest blog post written by Ethan Sawyer,  The College Essay Guy . Ethan helps students write amazing college essays by offering free resources, one-on-one essay sessions, online webinars, and in-person workshops.  We encourage you to learn more about  The College Essay Guy  and check out the original post !

1. State role and organization name in top box, so you don’t waste characters in the lower, 160 character box. Instead of: (top box) School newspaper (description box) I am the editor for the school newspaper ( And don’t repeat words!)

Try: (top box) Editor of International Column, School Newspaper (description box) Responsible for brainstorming, revising, and supervising articles by other writers for my column.

2. Emphasize tangible, measurable impact .  Whom did your activity help? How many people? How much money did you raise?

Instead of: Raised money for children in Africa. Try: Raised $3,000 to provide three uniforms and scholarships for students attending the Joseph Waweru Home School in Kenya (http://www.exop.org/home_school.html).

3. Use active verbs  to explain what you actually did (list your tasks). Instead of: Worked at a clinic doing different things. Try: Organized patient diagnosis notes, sterilized tools for surgeries, assisted with x-ray analysis.

4. To fit in more info:  use lists ,  don’t use complete sentences ,  cut extra words . Instead of: I raised money to donate to a school in Ghana in Africa by selling t-shirts and bracelets. Try: Arranged advertising events, organized fundraisers, and gave presentations at school meetings.

5.  Use the present tense  if it’s something you still do. Instead of: I helped tour visitors around the campus and presented some information on school history and student life. Try: I give campus tours, providing info on school history, student activities, boarding life.

6. Aim for  variety  in your list, making sure your verbs aren’t redundant. Instead of: Instructing, helping, teaching children tennis (how are these three different?) Try: Instructing in proper technique, while imparting lessons in sportsmanship, health and integrity.

7. Include  any responsibilities you had  to  demonstrate leadership skills . Instead of: I swim on the swim team. Try: Responsible for leading swim practices, planning fundraising events; assisting in recruiting process.

8. What if there isn’t much to say, or it was a one-time event? Explain the significance of the activity: who did the event matter to and why? Rather than: Tutored students. Try: Provided support to fourth graders with particularly difficult math concepts.

9. Avoid extreme language . Instead of: to help all those in need (or) to end poverty in the world Try: to help those in need (or) to aid in the fight against global poverty

10. Use bigger words.  Instead of: “Come up with” (or) “told people about” Try: Develop, brainstorm (or) advertised, marketed

Here are some examples: 

Important: list them in descending level of importance.

Editor of International Column, School Newspaper Responsible for brainstorming, revising, and supervising articles by other writers for my column.

Intern at Children’s Institute Otis Booth Campus Brainstormed ideas for after school programs for teens,created surveys,presented data to supervisor

Intern at Department of Cardiovascular Disease Organized patient diagnosis notes, sterilized tools for surgeries, assisted with x-ray analysis.

Worked as assistant at Ye-In Dental Clinic Helped with patient registration, sterilized tools for surgeries, assisted with surgical processes.

Speech and Debate Academic All-American Award, NFL Tournament Qualifier (’11, ’12), Rupe Scholar, Stanford Invitational Semi-finalist, Harker Invitational Semi-finalist

Korean Compassion: Korean-to-English Letter Translator Translated letters sent by supporters to impoverished children in Asian and African countries.

Junior Researcher at Benetti Sport Inc. Conducted surveys to research youth interests, contributed ideas for future products.

Math Tutor at Sippican Elementary School Using card games and quizzes to simplify concepts, taught basic math skills to third graders.

School Tour Guide – International Guiding Staff I tour visitors around campus, while presenting school history, student activities, boarding life.

Global Partner for International Orientation I help new international students with registration and adjustment to the new school environment.

Click here for 10 Tips on Writing Your UC Activities List

Click here for a Brief Guide to Writing Your Common App “Additional Info” Section

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What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

How to Fill Out the Common App Activities Section

Your GPA and SAT don’t tell the full admissions story

Our chancing engine factors in extracurricular activities, demographics, and other holistic details. We’ll let you know what your chances are at your dream schools — and how to improve your chances!

Our chancing engine factors in extracurricular activities, demographic, and other holistic details.

Our chancing engine factors in extracurricular activities, demographic, and other holistic details. We’ll let you know what your chances are at your dream schools — and how to improve your chances!

What’s Covered:

How important is the activities section, types of activities and positions held, selecting activities to include.

• Position/Leadership Description

Writing the Description

Participating grade levels, estimating time commitment, participation in college.

Filling out the Common App can be a very involved process. There are so many sections to go through, and it seems overwhelming at times. This article provides you with step by step instructions, as well as do’s and don’ts for each section, that will help you break down the activities section of the Common App. 

Selective colleges use grades and test scores to filter out applicants, but once you get past that initial stage, extracurriculars make up about 30% of your admissions decision. This shows us that they’re almost as important as academics! Since there are many applicants with similar academic backgrounds, colleges use extracurriculars to help them differentiate and choose between applicants. For more information about how colleges filter applicants, check out our post on the Academic Index .

While extracurriculars might seem subjective, colleges are methodical in their evaluation of them. They use the 4 Tiers of Extracurriculars :

Tier 1: These are rare activities that show exceptional achievement or leadership. They include national awards or other prestigious achievements.

Tier 2: These are little more common than Tier 1, but these activities still showcase high levels of achievement and leadership. They include top leadership positions for well-known clubs and organizations, winning regional competitions, or state-level sports/music distinctions.

Tier 3: These lack the distinction of Tier 1 and 2, but still highlight student’s interests. They include minor leadership positions for well-known clubs and organizations and smaller athletic/musical distinctions.

Tier 4: These are the most common activities and are seen most often by admissions committees. They include general club/sports/musical membership and general volunteering.

If you’re wondering where your extracurriculars fall within the tier system, check out our free Chancing Engine . We’ll let you know if your profile is competitive for your dream schools and give you tips on improving your profile!

The Common Application offers a drop-down menu with the following activities from which to select:

• Athletics: Club
• Athletics: JV/Varsity
• Career-Oriented
• Community Service (Volunteer)
• Computer/Technology
• Debate/Speech
• Environmental
• Family Responsibilities
• Foreign Exchange
• Journalism/Publication
• Junior R.O.T.C.
• Music: Instrumental
• Music: Vocal
• School Spirit
• Science/Math
• Student Gov.t./Politics
• Theater/Drama
• Work (paid)
• Other Club/Activity

For each activity you include on your application, choose the appropriate category. If you find that a particular extracurricular activity fits into multiple categories, choose the more specific one (e.g. “Math Club” would go into “Science/Math as opposed to Academic”). If the activity fits into two equally specific categories, choose the more relevant one. You will be able to expand in the description if needed.

Since the list is fairly broad, you will probably find that your activity fits into at least one of the sections available. If not, select “Other Club/Activity” and identify it in the “Position/Leadership” description and organization name section. 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.

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. “Junior R.O.T.C.”, for example, refers to Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, a Federal Program sponsored by the U.S. Armed Forces. Accordingly, you should only list that activity if you actually participate in that specific organization.

Colleges do want to see that you are specialized , but you probably don’t want to choose the same category for every activity. If it seems like you are choosing one category for everything, try to diversify a bit and think about how activities can be related without being exactly the same thing. 

For example, if you are the secretary in student government and participated in a leadership program over the summer, select “Student Government/Politics” for the secretary position, and “Career-Oriented” for the leadership program. Both categories indicate that you are a driven leader, but they present different facets of your personality.

The activities section has a limit of ten extracurricular activities . 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. If you need to add more activities, use the additional information section or your essays. However, you should only do so if these activities are truly essential to the admissions committee’s understanding of your extracurricular life .

Many schools allow you to submit a resume in addition to your application. Not only does doing so allow you to include more extracurricular activities, but also provides more space for you to expand on the descriptions of your activities since you are not limited to a certain number of characters.

Also, remember that you don’t have to list ten activities just because the space is available; some require much more of a commitment than others, so it’s okay if you only have 5 activities that are time intensive and mean a lot to you.

For each activity, the form will ask you in which grade levels you participated in the extracurricular activity, the timing of your participation (school year vs. school break), and how many hours you spent on it per week and weeks per year. 

These questions can help you narrow down which activities to include, since you should only be adding the ones to which you are truly dedicated. Colleges want to see that you’re committed to your activities because that indicates a passion for something outside of academics that you will bring to college and hopefully beyond.

For example, if you played tennis all four years of high school and became captain of your school team senior year, that is an activity to include in this section. On the other hand, if you dabbled in the clarinet briefly in ninth grade before quitting, it’s probably a good idea to skip that one, unless you don’t have a lot of activities to list.

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. Colleges won’t see the brevity of your involvement as a negative factor; they understand that some activities simply have an imposed beginning and ending that are not within your control.

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. Additionally, if you have participated in related activities, colleges will see the pattern of your interest and commitment.

Position/Leadership Description and Organization Name

After you choose the activity type, the application will ask you to describe the position you held (or hold) and the organization name. This section is limited to 50 characters.

Be as specific as possible here. 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. For example, if you were Student Council Vice President freshman year and a class representative the other three years, list these out as: Vice President (1 yr), Class Representative (3 yrs).

You should also be specific in defining the organization. If it has a name, say it, and define what it is if that is unclear. If the activity is typically referred to by an acronym, be sure to list the full name, as you never want to assume that admissions committees will be familiar with the activity to which you are referring.

You are limited to 150 characters for details, accomplishments, honors won, and accomplishments within each activity, so you will need to be concise and offer only the most pertinent details. If you absolutely need more room to thoroughly explain truly important details about the activity, use the additional information section to expand, or describe it in more detail in your essay if it relates to the topic you choose.

Remember that this section is not there for you to prove your eloquence as a writer; you have the essay to do that. Rather, this serves to inform the admissions committee about your life outside school as succinctly as possible. Use active verbs and limit the use of adjectives and adverbs. You don’t need to use complete sentences. Be as specific as you can be in the space available. If you hold a leadership position, emphasize that role in your description.

Try to focus on quantitative descriptions over qualitative ones. Adding numerical values offers concrete proof of your success , and can show colleges how you were involved specifically. If you are a leader in the activity, mention how many members the group has, how many people you serve (if applicable), how many people your work affected, and so on.

Try not to be redundant, especially considering the limited space. For instance, if you are the president of the tutoring club at your school, you don’t 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. 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.”

Editor, The Daily (school newspaper)

Run weekly meetings, brainstorm topics, assign and revise 10 articles/week, collaborate with printers to distribute 500 copies to students and faculty.

Goalkeeper, Varsity Field Hockey (school team)

2018 conference champions; led weekly trainings for the JV goalkeepers; organized team bonding events. 

Concert master (school orchestra)

Member of most advanced ensemble, led sectionals to teach difficult passages, performed five concerts per year.

Example 4: 

Service Club President and co-founder

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.

Science Olympiad school team member

Participated in multiple science-based events; 2nd place 2018 for Write It Do It, 3rd place 2019 for Meteorology. 

Example 6:  

Model UN school team member

Participated in three conferences per year; Best Small Delegation 2018, Outstanding Delegate 2019.

These are examples of strong activity descriptions because they provide a large amount of information in a few words. College admissions officers don’t have the time to read large blocks of text, and it’s generally better to try and write less in areas where they are not asking for an essay. 

An example of a weaker response would be:

Position: Hospital Volunteer

Description: Helped patients and doctors.

This example does not elaborate on what the student did, nor does it show what they learned from their time at the hospital. Instead, they could say something like: entertained children in the waiting room by sharing riddles and performing “mathemagics”; fully digitized the patient filing system.

If you’re 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. The key is as follows:

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”).

When you estimate the amount of time you spent on a particular activity, it doesn’t need to be exact. However, it does need to be realistic. If you claim to spend ten hours per week on all ten activities, colleges will know you’re exaggerating, to say the least. It’s understandable that you spend more time on some activities than others.

If you are having trouble estimating your time commitment, try keeping a time log for a couple weeks and provide an average.

The last question for each activity asks you whether or not you plan to continue a similar extracurricular activity in college. The application asks this because colleges want to know what kind of student you will be when you arrive. Remember, they are looking for a diverse student body filled with future leaders in their respective fields. If you intend to continue a particular pursuit in college, it shows them that you are truly interested and dedicated to it. To some degree, they also want to see that you are doing the activity because you are truly passionate about it, not just because you want to impress colleges.

That doesn’t mean you have to continue it. Some activities have a natural end and simply aren’t adaptable to a college environment, such as a club particular to your high school. Or perhaps you just don’t want to continue it. But if it is something you don’t really care about, you may want to reevaluate whether or not it is a good idea to include it in your application.

Also keep in mind that just because you intend to continue the activity in college at this point does not mean you are obligated to do so when you actually matriculate. Colleges may give your name to members of a club, organization, or activity in which you participate so they can follow up with you, but you are by no means bound to joining when you begin college (unless, of course, you are accepted on an athletic or other scholarship that requires your participation in a certain activity). So by answering “yes” to this question, you are merely indicating that you are interested in continuing the activity.

A Few Other Considerations

List your activities in order of importance. To delete an activity, move it to the bottom of the list and click on the delete icon. You can also simply edit the activity to reflect a different one.

You may want to start by watching the short tutorial video available at the top of the section to get started. Try not to feel too overwhelmed — college applications take a lot of work, but the reward is well worth it.

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

The Activity Essay

The activity essay is an excellent opportunity to expand beyond the 150-character limit of the Common App’s activity descriptions. Colleges want to know the motivations behind your participation and your level of commitment to the enterprises you deem most important. How has this activity had an impact on your life? How has participation in this activity affected the lives of others? Maybe your membership in speech and debate served as the inspiration for your future pursuit of a law degree. Did your after school volunteer work at an animal shelter bring new furry family members into the lives of your friends and family? Has playing the guitar since you were five years old shown you the power of dedication and allowed you the thrill of taking part in your own garage band?

This is also an excellent place to highlight your leadership skills, teamwork and drive. But remember, show don’t tell (if you have the space). Describing how your role as captain improved communication among your cheerleading teammates is much more effective than telling admissions you are a great leader.

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Category: Admissions , advice , College Admissions , Common Application , Essay Resources , Essay Writing , Uncategorized

Tags: Admissions , admissions essay , admissions help , college admissions , college admissions essay , college application , college application help , common application , supplemental essays

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• Emily Spriggs
• Oct 15, 2021

Level up your Common App Activities List with The College Essay Guy

Click on the video image to play

USA Application Guru Ethan Sawyer has just released a new video on up=leveling your Common App Activities list.

In this video he covers:

Why strong verbs are key + where to find my Epic List of Activities List Verbs

How the BEABIES exercise can help you remember stuff you did

How to bring more variety into your descriptions (if you've already written them)

Tips for the Awards and Honors section

If you are applying via Common App this year, or considering applying to the USA in the future, this is well worth a watch.

Subscribe to his channel to receive updates whenever he releases new content

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, common app activities section examples.

Hey everyone! I'm starting to work on my Common App and I'm not sure how to format my activities section. Can anyone share a brief example or some tips on how to showcase my extracurriculars? I appreciate the help!

Hey there! Certainly, the Common App Activities section is important to make your extracurriculars stand out. Here's a quick example and some tips.

Example: Varsity Soccer (Team Captain) — Grades 9-12, 10 hrs/week, 30 wks/yr

• Elected captain in junior year

• Led team to regional championships in senior year

• Organized team-building events and volunteer opportunities

1. Use concise language and phrases instead of full sentences.

2. Quantify your involvement (hours per week, weeks per year).

3. Highlight leadership positions and personal achievements.

4. Focus on your most significant contributions or impacts.

5. If you've used abbreviations, make sure they're commonly recognized.

Don't forget to prioritize your most important activities as you can list up to 10. Good luck with your Common App!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

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Tips for getting started on your Common App essay

Gearing up to begin your common app essay here are some tips for getting started., 1. read prompts from previous years.

Here is a link to the '23-'24 Common App college essay prompts. These are very similar to the prompts from the last few years.

Notice that these questions prioritize reflection. In fact, the Common App essay is an exercise in talking about your character, rather than your accomplishments.

Think about the qualities of your character that stand out—what do you love about yourself? Think about adjectives: loyal, fair, kind, determined, etc. Make a list! 

As you consider everything else about your future application, think about what qualities of your character will come through from other aspects. What might your teacher recommendations share? What about your activities list? (For example: if you are proud of your ability to respond with fairness, I might learn this by seeing your participation in your school’s Honor Council).

Now, what is left? You want to make sure your essay highlights these features!

2. Start brainstorming

Here are some of my favorite exercises for brainstorming your college essay:

The College Essay Guy "Essence Objects" Exercise

The College Essay Guy "Values" Exercise

The College Essay Guy "Everything I want colleges to know about me" exercise

Take the 16 Personalities Test (based on the Myers-Briggs Indicator) and use the results to develop your list of character traits or to inspire you toward a particular question.

3. As you get to writing, consider the two main types of essays

There are really two types of Common App essays: montage and narrative.

In montage essays , the writer focuses on one big idea about who they are and what defines their character. From there, they tell stories.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when writing montage essays:

Are you a great teammate/intellectually curious human/big idea generator? 

Have you learned to be more comfortable with failure/more flexible with your thinking/more comfortable being independent in the world? 

Are you taking some “life lessons” from an impactful summer job/extracurricular activity into different aspects of your life?

In  narrative essays , the writer pens a story with an arc, lessons, learnings, and effects.

Here are some questions to ask yourself when writing a narrative essay:

What is the story you have to share? 

What will I learn about you because you tell this story? 

What did you learn because this happened? How have you changed as a person?

4. Keep this draft open

Revisit your draft often. Share it with one or two people who have offered their support. Remember, only give these people “comment” privileges (not “edit”). It is so important that your essay is your own voice.

Elise holds a BA in Political Philosophy from Williams College and an MEd in Administration & Social Policy from Harvard. She has spent the past twenty years working in top-tier independent schools.

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