Why does it captivate you? Commonly listed activities include participating in school clubs, playing an instrument, playing a sport, attending pre-college summer programs, volunteering, and many others. For more information, please see our Be sure to include weeks for preseason or tryouts and auditions in your final number! Common App Essay Example #1: Seeds of Immigration. How can the Activities List be used to demonstrate a hook? section is straight-forward. Participated in multiple science-based events; 2nd place 2018 for Write It Do It, 3rd place 2019 for Meteorology. , admissions officers want to know whether you have taken classes at any college. This example does not elaborate on what the student did, nor does it show what they learned from their time at the hospital. These lack the distinction of Tier 1 and 2, but still highlight students interests. Your parents or legal guardians employment information, education, etc. Share info about plant sales, swaps, and propagation. Always be as specific as possible in these essays. To delete an activity, move it to the bottom of the list and click on the delete icon. Leaving the answer as Undecided will show admissions officers that you have not put much thought into your interests or future career choices. Remember that this section is not there for you to prove your eloquence as a writer; you have the essay to do that. When self-reporting your test scores, you must be honest. Applications typically open on August 1 and close on January 1. When you estimate the amount of time you spent on a particular activity, it doesnt need to be exact. Get valuable advice from students who have been in your shoes. With so little space, you will not be able to write in full sentences. A student who is interested in business and starting her own company one day can select Business owner as part of the Future Plans section. It is clear that as a student in NYC, she has taken advantage of the extensive resources at her disposaluniversities, museums, nonprofits, and even her own apartment complexin order to contribute to her community and explore her passions from multiple angles. As a result, this section only becomes available if you select one of the schools on the list. Here are your choices: Academic Art Think strategically about how you can differentiate yourself. - This section is self-explanatory. Dont forget to edit and proofread. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. New Feature. For activities that are less structured, estimate the average time you devote per week. However, if you choose to do so, it helps colleges get a better idea of the race distribution in a class year, what ethnic or religious group might be underrepresented, and can be used for affirmative action purposes. You can tailor your responses in the college-specific sections that come up once you have chosen a school, but the following will be sent to all of the schools on your list. The Common App activities list is the very best place to express your persona with some direct assertiveness. 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. Just make sure to practice good judgement when it comes to the Additional Information section. Your siblings attending the same college also counts as legacy. As usual, be careful when transcribing information onto the Common App. Colleges do want to see that you are specialized, but you probably dont want to choose the same category for every activity. </p>. Pick people who know you best, understand your background and interests, and can provide perspective on you as a student and a person. Terms and Conditions. Use verbs that show action and ownership over an activity, Worked with a professor on a research project, Include numbers and percentages to quantify your impact. The activities list is an excellent opportunity to brag about your accomplishments, as well as the talents and skills that you have developed outside of the classroom along the way. They include national awards or other prestigious achievements. Thus, taking the SAT 5 times and getting a strong score does not help your application stand out! It can seem like the Activities section of the Common App gives rise to the most questions, and for good reason. These courses are also a good way to balance out your grades if you are not happy with them. Dont forget to edit and proofread. In our example Honors section, the student has listed five awards in descending order of importance (i.e. 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). Here's a guide for the perfect activities section. We recommend selecting the grade level preceding the summer in question. You only get 150 characters to sum up each activity, so make sure you are optimizing the space by summarizing your role and impact in each activity. Within 250 words, you have the opportunity to inform colleges whether the Coronavirus outbreak and social distancing protocols affected your health, family life, and learning abilities. 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. The Testing section asks you to self-report any tests you have taken, whether standardized tests such as the SAT or ACT (. The Common Application is a single online college application form used by over 900 colleges and universities. Your entire college application process rides on how you fill the Common App out! Keep in mind that the term "academic" is used pretty loosely in this context. You could also use it to address any disciplinary action that might exist on your record. Our complete and essential guide to the College Application covers each step from junior spring through senior fall to help you optimize your time and earn admission to your dream school! Currently, due to COVID-19, standardized tests have become optional in many schools. It is very important that your description should make clear what your specific impact or contribution is or was, as opposed to what the organizations members did as a group. The Common App dashboard also helps you track necessary application documents (like your . As you can tell, it is pretty straightforward and gives you a bigger picture of where youre from and where you grew up. Your child can add up to 10 school activities on the Common App. The Common Application, or Common App, is a college application portal that is accepted by more than 900 schools.. where you are able to choose which SAT and ACT scores to report. Begin by selecting the category the activity falls under. Some schools still maintain proprietary applications or use other application systems. As an applicant, there are some important choices you have to make here. Ask yourself questions. The application asks for your proficiency so you can denote whether you can only read and write or speak the language. All results will vary by individual and be affected by factors outside the control of Command Group Inc. dba Command Education. Be as specific as possible here. 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! Studied intersections of art and environmental activism. The CommonSpirit Events app is you The satire in the fourth Voyage has been considered most distinctively Swiftian, The standard length of a residency personal statement is one page in ERAS, which equals anywhere from 500-800 words. Try not to be redundant, especially considering the limited space. As usual, be careful when transcribing information onto the Common App. Write in present tense only if you are still involved, and past tense if your involvement in the activity has come to an end. Steverino is right that those activities often involve sports. A very important factor to remember is that these upcoming sections apply for all of the schools on the Common Application! Dont worry about committing to your future life path in this section. list your roles in order of importance rather than chronologically. Currently, due to COVID-19, standardized tests have become optional in many schools. Additionally, if you have participated in related activities, colleges will see the pattern of your interest and commitment. If you are unsure which level of recognition to select, you can often determine information about the scope of the award on the award organizations affiliate website! Prospective students fill out their basic information, and the service shares the data with all of the applicant's chosen schools. Apply to our $10,000 No Essay Scholarship! 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. Once you have an initial list of schools to research, you can begin researching each school on your list in more depth, with the aim of both narrowing down your initial list and potentially discovering additional factors that can help you identify more schools for your list. Read on for tips on completing the honors section. 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. School Spirit. You can tailor your responses in the college-specific sections that come up once you have chosen a school, but the following will be sent to all of the schools on your list. He then repeated it and continued: "Our nation's children are all our children.". Admissions officers go through a lot of applications. Final review of 20 articles published and distributed bi-weekly. Make sure these do not overlap with the answers in your Activities section! However, it does need to be realistic. The Activities section allows you to write about up to ten activities that youve participated in throughout high school. Proofread and fact-checked over 30 pieces about environmental issues annually. Then, there are colleges that do not require standardized test scores. Show them how youve grown stronger or how your topic has changed your perspective. You will be able to expand in the description if needed. How can you take advantage of the prompt to provide your reader with a sense of your personal growth? Make sure to be clear in writing. For your current school, you have to indicate whether your school is a boarding school, when you started the school, and whether you plan to graduate from your current school. The Honors Section will prompt you to fill out 3 fields. Being on a pep squad, being the organizer of rallies/spirit weeks, being homecoming committee chair, etc. Remember, each section is very important, not only individually, but how they work together to paint a more holistic picture of you as an applicant. As daunting as all of the sections of the Common App might seem, if done right, it can help ease the process. Keep the following tips in mind: Check out the following examples and take note of how the second iteration communicates the same information with less characters: Being concise with your wording doesnt mean that you should leave out information that is necessary to describe your award. This section asks for your country of birth, city of birth, and how many years youve lived in and outside the United States. The, In this blog, we will take a closer look at the sections and provide tips for filling out each one. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. 1 of 3 student representatives selected in our class of 200 to interview and select the next head of upper school. Remember to account for spring/winter breaks as you calculate weeks you participated. The Honors section allows you to show a snapshot of how you excelled on a local, national, or international level. . You want to stand out, you want to tell your story, and share some of your biggest passions and important parts of your life. The Common App uses a drop-down menu to help students divide their activities into preset categories. School Specific Essays - A lot of schools have specific questions that they want to ask about your interest in their campus and course offerings specifically. You absolutely do not have to fill out this section if you dont have anything else to add. How do you complete it. 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. Be sure to list any honors you receive on your applications to maximize your chances. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College. Make sure to look at each of your colleges test requirement policies. What was the outcome? If youre an athlete, talk about the importance of the teams spirit if it appeals to you. 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. In 100 characters or less, you will need to describe the honors you received. As daunting as all of the sections of the Common App might seem, if done right, it can help ease the process. Colleges want to see that youre committed to your activities because that indicates a passion for something outside of academics that you will bring to college and hopefully beyond. Tier 3: These lack the distinction of Tier 1 and 2, but still highlight students interests. It celebrates successes and creates a sense of togetherness. ! (99 characters), Winner, R.J. Simmons Award for Community Service, performed 100+ hours of service work, Grade: 10. 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. Talk to them openly about your interests in the major of your choice, about the activities you want to pursue in college, and the extracurriculars from high school that you have tried to highlight in your application. Created multimedia portfolio of 5 works under guidance of professional artist First Last. Make sure you make it clear when clubs are in association with your school when applicable. Your family background is a big part of providing admissions officers a greater context of who you are and where you come from. If you had to relocate, admissions officers want to know this to see how the move might have affected your performance. for details, accomplishments, honors won, and accomplishments within each activity, so you will need to be concise and offer only the most pertinent details. The Common Application, which is accepted by more than 1,000 schools, including some colleges located outside the U.S., helps streamline an essential part of the admissions process for. Waitlisted at your dream college? In fact, its meant to serve the opposite. Do not write about middle school achievements, about others achievements, or try to accomplish too much. This fictional student demonstrates a strong hook in environmental science and art. Be as specific as you can be in the space available. The Profile section helps the admission officers get an overview of your background. If you spend a lot of time with your family, perhaps you take care of an ailing member, that absolutely counts as well and shows a great deal of responsibility. Sell prints and stickers with $500+ in profits. You have to select your citizenship status from a drop-down menuwhether you are a US Citizen, a US Dual Citizen, a US Permanent Resident, a US Refugee, or non-US Citizen. Number one priority your school spirit must be an attention getter. A general rule of thumb is that national awards should be listed first, followed by state, local, and school awards. How does your personality tie into your Application Persona. Below, youll find more examples about how to make the most of each field to highlight your potential! Some colleges have a superscore policy, which allows you to pick each of your top sub scores and combine into one superscore if you have taken a standardized test multiple times. This means that art awards, publications, and athletic awards are all fair game.