Be as specific as you can be in the space available. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. If you find that a particular extracurricular activity fits into multiple categories, choose the more specific one (e.g. The Common Application offers a drop-down menu with the following activities from which to select: 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. This section allows students to enter a maximum of 5 Honors and Awards and 100 characters to describe the honor. Gold Medal from the Presidents Foundation for volunteering 200+ hrs at animal shelters. This student is creatively-minded, self-driven, capable of leading groups and teams, and interested in community-building. For example, if the school youre applying to is a liberal arts college, you can highlight how the community or small faculty to student ratio appeals to you. Apply to our $10,000 No Essay Scholarship! It creates school pride, brings together the student body and generates excitement on campus! When you estimate the amount of time you spent on a particular activity, it doesnt need to be exact. Now that you have an idea of what each Common Application section is like, you are all set to begin your application process. To fill out the Common Application, make sure you have all of the information with you. Pick people who know you best, understand your background and interests, and can provide perspective on you as a student and a person. 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. If you are having trouble estimating your time commitment, try keeping a time log for a couple weeks and provide an average. The options include: 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 Select the grade level in which you won the award. 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. The Common App, Analyzed: 5 Successful Activity Entries Explained Note that even if a school does not require Courses & Grades on the Common App, all of your high school transcripts go to each school. Colleges do want to see that you are specialized, but you probably dont want to choose the same category for every activity. A commonly asked question regarding this field is how to label the activities that took place in the summer. You should strategically choose the ten activities you want to include in a way that highlights your hook! It might be easier to estimate the number of hours you devote to scheduled activities like sports than activities you complete at your own leisure. What Is School Spirit? - The Classroom Proofread and fact-checked over 30 pieces about environmental issues annually. These lack the distinction of Tier 1 and 2, but still highlight students interests. Explore more than 1,000 colleges on Common App. Honors, whether they are academic, community-oriented, or relate to an extracurricular, show that a student has made an impact and shown potential that goes beyond the numbers. Spirit boosts school spirit, event attendance, and makes communication easy. The Grades section asks for your class size and class rank (if you have one) for more context on your student body. , admissions officers want to know whether you have taken classes at any college. You can list up to five honors, and for each one you'll be asked to provide a brief . Your achievements should be tangible or quantifiable. Higher education has never been more confusing or expensive. If you need it, this space is yours to describe those impacts. Sell prints and stickers with $500+ in profits. Keep in mind that the term academic is used pretty loosely in this context. If you have less than 5 awards you can stretch the definition of academic to include more honors, for example, if youve won first prize in a regional or national art competition. This could include anything from a science award to an article in an economic journal. Well let you know if your profile is competitive for your dream schools and give you tips on improving your profile! Run dog-walking service with my siblings for neighbors in apartment complex. Colleges want to know what courses youve selected and how they might have affected your grades as well. Common Application Guide - TheBestSchools.org I noticed the "school spirit" category, and I feel like this is a stupid question, but what activity could someone put in that falls in that category other than being a mascot or something. They want to know if you were raised by a single parent, whether you grew up in a divorced home, whether one of your parents has passed away. This section asks for your country of birth, city of birth, and how many years youve lived in and outside the United States. Rather, this serves to inform the admissions committee about your life outside school as succinctly as possible. Here are examples from top high school students. Be sure to list any honors you receive on your applications to maximize your chances. The key is as follows: 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). Well let you know if your profile is competitive for your dream schools and give you tips on improving your profile! Admissions officers can count and will notice if your participation hours exceed the number of hours in a week! Guide to the Common Application | The Princeton Review Zach graduated from Elon University with a degree in Cinema and Television Arts. As for the actual writing, pay attention to your narrative structure. Therefore, it will be necessary to abbreviate when possible and include only the most illuminating information. Therefore, do not write anything thats specific to any one of the schools. Contact us if you are interested in partnering. Lets take it one step further. Then, there are colleges that do not require standardized test scores. Her hook is conveyed through an impressive mix of in-school extracurriculars, out-of-school activities, summer activities, and hobbies. Spirit | A home for everything outside the classroom This section allows you to put in a nickname if applicable, your name in another language if you have one, and if youve used any other names previously. section is straight-forward. 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. Accordingly, you should only list that activity if you actually participate in that specific organization. If that is the case, refer to your practice or game schedule or estimate based on the semester schedule. Team placed 1st in division and advanced to state semifinals. Since there are exactly five slots, if you have more than five awards, prioritize your achievements, and list the most unique and impressive ones. One reason could be that you wanted to take advanced courses not offered at your high school. LGBT The Education section asks for the following information: A list of honors that could be included are, A good example of listing an honor within the given space is: 1st Place, Intel ISEF, for inventing Robocop, robotic biomechanical law enforcement wearable unit. 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.