The Importance of the Activities List for Common App & UC App
by Jennifer L.
Both the Common App and the University of California (UC) application request students to include a list of activities that they have participated in over the course of their high school years.
How important is this activities list? Very important! This section of the application is another big opportunity for colleges to get to know more about you. With carefully selected words and constructed phrases, you can highlight your passions, interests, and future goals all of which are crucial for an admissions team to understand about you before deciding if you are a fit for their institution.
Leave a Lasting Impression
The Activities section in the Common App has a character count limit of only 150 to describe your activity, as opposed to the UC application which allows for 350 characters. Therefore, every word must have an impact! Avoid complete sentences and use action verbs in phrases to showcase your accomplishments and skills. You want to be memorable!
The words you choose to describe your position/leadership, the organization you participated in, and the time you invested in the activity are a reflection of you. For example, if you are writing about being a football coach, instead of writing that you taught football skills, consider highlighting that you promoted lessons on sportsmanship, teamwork, and confidence-building. This would highlight that you value these characteristics and imparted them to your athletes. Although it is important to be memorable, keep in mind you don’t ever want to embellish your accomplishments to try and sound more impressive.
Importance of Order
The order you decide to list your activities is another way to communicate to a college your passions and interests. Activities listed at the top of your list will likely be better remembered, so start with the activities that mean the most to you and leave a memorable impression.
Also, consider if there are any related themes to your activities that you want to share that highlight important characteristics of who you are and your future goals; for example, teamwork, leadership, athletics, music, art, or social justice causes. It may be helpful to list activities in an order that focuses on this theme.
What to include?
The Common App allows for 10 entries in the Activities section of the application as opposed to the UC application which has 20 entries.
The Common App has a separate section to list academic honors, so the 10 entries can focus specifically on an applicant’s activities. In the UC application, applicants list honors and awards as part of the 20 entries.
The decision of what to include can definitely be a challenging one. Should you feel pressured to fill in all the entries? No! Include the activities that are important to you and deliver the message you want to convey about yourself. Activities that don’t share much about who you are or your future career path or goals may be best not included.
Every element of your college application is an opportunity to show admissions officers how you are a great fit for their institution. IvyBoost counselors and essay mentors can help you optimize this opportunity by developing an overall theme within your application that is carried throughout all parts of your application, including your very important activities list.