You can then start adding your school list, and going through the sections to understand the requirements for each. introduced a question for students to outline any changes in circumstances due to COVID-19. This section asks for your country of birth, city of birth, and how many years youve lived in and outside the United States. School spirit looks like teamwork. While extracurriculars might seem subjective, colleges are methodical in their evaluation of them. Today, students can use the Common App to apply to over 1,000 colleges and universities. As the application evolved over time from a paper application to online, the core of Common Apps principles has never changed promoting access, equity, and integrity, in the college admissions process for all students. Intrinsic to these principles is the promotion of fair, transparent, straightforward, and consistent practices in admissions. Think about all of these logistics carefully, and you will set yourself up for success as you fill out the Common Application. It creates school pride, brings together the student body and generates excitement on campus! Rather, describe your impact as an editor. , admissions officers want to know whether you have taken classes at any college. It was started by 15 colleges who decided to "pool" their applications into one easily navigated application site. Colleges want to know what courses youve selected and how they might have affected your grades as well. When hes not contributing to Scholarships360, Zach writes about travel, music, film, and culture. 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. What is the Common App activities section? You do not have much space to do so, so read this guide to learn how to make the most of the characters you are allotted. Today, Common App is a non-profit membership organization representing more than 1,000 diverse institutions of higher education. 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. Yes, universities and colleges do care about honors when they review applications! College admissions officers dont have the time to read large blocks of text, and its generally better to try and write less in areas where they are not asking for an essay. Most importantly, the activities list is one of the best places to showcase the various ways in which you have developed your hook! 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. For any activities that fall outside the predefined categories, which are listed below, just select Other Club/Activity. can be daunting. The honors section of the Common App is one of the few times in life when its perfectly acceptable to brag about yourself. Sports seasons can be divided into fall (September-November), Winter (November/December-February), and Spring (March-June). For example, youll want to write down 12th as opposed to 2020-2021, if thats the year you were in the 12th grade. Participated in three conferences per year; Best Small Delegation 2018, Outstanding Delegate 2019. 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. , and can show colleges how you were involved specifically. Make sure you make it clear when clubs are in association with your school when applicable. The first piece that you have to fill out on the Common Application is the Profile section. You might have fallen ill yourselfor had to take on added responsibilities in your family because your parents were sick. Your activities section paints a picture of who you are outside the classroom, but the honors section is a demonstration of the things you really excel at. Not only has she pursued multiple activities in both environmental science and art, but she has also found and studied creative intersections between these fields, through painting murals at local gardens, featuring and selling her nature photography on her personal social media, and studying environmental art at a summer program. At Command Education, we often emphasize the importance of establishing your hook otherwise known as a passion and skill set that sets you apart. If you graduated from high school and continued to participate in that activity, mark post-graduate.. best to take full advantage of this section. You dont need to use complete sentences. Applications typically open on August 1 and close on January 1. Our goal is to help you navigate the very big decisions related to higher ed with objective information and expert advice. To make the most out of your honors section, keep the following strategies in mind: Make sure to lead with your most impressive achievements. Create public art installations including murals and sculptures in community gardens. The honors section is an excellent way for, Membership in your schools chapter of National Honor Society, Outstanding achievement in a particular subject, Write each number instead of spelling it out, Abbreviate (but only for well-known organizations), In eleventh grade, I won first place in the North Carolina Youth and Government competition for writing and defending a bill on raising the minimum wage. On the other hand, if you dabbled in the clarinet briefly in ninth grade before quitting, its probably a good idea to skip that one, unless you dont have a lot of activities to list. This example does not elaborate on what the student did, nor does it show what they learned from their time at the hospital. In the Colleges and Universities section of the. You should also be specific in defining the organization. <p>One of the things we were told to look for during . A very important factor to remember is that these upcoming sections apply for all of the schools on the. Since there are many applicants with similar academic backgrounds, colleges use extracurriculars to help them differentiate and choose between applicants. Most importantly, it makes your students feel like they are part of a community that is bigger than themselves. How can you take advantage of the prompt to provide your reader with a sense of your personal growth? Narrate your story by. This is a simple opportunity to show more about your interests and/or cultural background. Additionally, if you have participated in related activities, colleges will see the pattern of your interest and commitment. 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). The Testing section asks you to self-report any tests you have taken, whether standardized tests such as the SAT or ACT (. A very important factor to remember is that these upcoming sections apply for all of the schools on the Common Application! If youre an athlete, talk about the importance of the teams spirit if it appeals to you. This student was admitted to Dartmouth College. Therefore, do not write anything thats specific to any one of the schools. We recommend selecting the grade level preceding the summer in question. Common App Activities List vs. UC Activities List. There are so many sections to go through, and it seems overwhelming at times. Organized inaugural Green Week with themed activities and prizes. Apply to our $10,000 No Essay Scholarship! 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). Disciplinary information: disciplinary violation at any educational institution, misdemeanor, felony. When you estimate the amount of time you spent on a particular activity, it doesnt need to be exact. If not, select Other Club/Activity and identify it in the Position/Leadership description and organization name section. Time to start tackling your college applications. If you hold a dual or non-US citizenship, you are asked to list your citizenships. Is the Activities List important for college admissions? Roughly estimate the number of weeks you devoted to an activity. ! This section is not a place to extend your personal essay or add to your activities list. These lack the distinction of Tier 1 and 2, but still highlight students interests. . Waitlisted at your dream college? In fact, its meant to serve the opposite. List your activities in order of importance. You could relate your experience as a tour guide and representative at your high school to marketing, or your experience working as a sales associate at a clothing store to client relationship skills! For example, you might spend 20 weeks during the school year attending your robotics club. 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. It's one . You can list up to five honors, and for each one you'll be asked to provide a brief . Greet and direct visitors at information desk and coat check. But school spirit can also be generated in other ways, and we have seen that on several campuses. The Common App allows you to apply to multiple schools at once. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you? Instead of superscoring across test dates, some schools will just look at your highest score from a single sitting. While this portion might seem very straight-forward, these fundamentals matter. While using the Common App is free, submitting to the schools you want costs money, and can range from $30 to $75 per application. . - This section is self-explanatory. 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. As an applicant, there are some important choices you have to make here. where you are able to choose which SAT and ACT scores to report. Abbreviating first and the title of the Engineering Fair helped reduce characters. Keep in mind that the term "academic" is used pretty loosely in this context. 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. Be sure to list any honors you receive on your applications to maximize your chances. Instead of superscoring across test dates, some schools will just look at your highest score from a single sitting. Juniors and seniors can often fall into the trap of signing up for many clubs at their schoolbut this strategy could end up backfiring by making an application seem disingenuous. 1 of 3 student representatives selected in our class of 200 to interview and select the next head of upper school. 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. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. Theres a common misconception that only the most prestigious, well-known awards are worthy of listing on your application. Each year, more than one million students a third of . It could be used to provide context on whether there is a particular trend in your GPA, or whether any unforeseen circumstances, such as illness or a death in the family, impacted your school performance. For more information about how colleges filter applicants, check out our post on the, While extracurriculars might seem subjective, colleges are methodical in their evaluation of them. So by answering yes to this question, you are merely indicating that you are interested in continuing the activity. Spearheaded creating a digital paper. The Common Application allows students to list 10 activities and 5 honors and awards separately, while the UC application allows students 20 spaces in total for both activities and awards. 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. How can the Activities List be used to demonstrate a hook? Plans made in high school often change, and that is okay. Through the following questions, admissions officers get a substantial idea of who you are and where you are from. Check off the grades during which you were involved with the activity. They use the 4 Tiers of Extracurriculars: Tier 1: These are rare activities that show exceptional achievement or leadership. They include minor leadership positions for well-known clubs and organizations and smaller athletic/musical distinctions. Your teachers, guidance counselors, and other recommenders can submit their letters of recommendation directly on the Common Appyou will invite them to contribute through the application platform. If you participated during the school year and during school breaks, check off both During school year and During school break. If you participated in the activity during the school year, during the school breaks, and during the summer, check off All year.. Use active verbs and limit the use of adjectives and adverbs. Final review of 20 articles published and distributed bi-weekly. The application asks this because colleges want to know what kind of student you will be when you arrive. Some colleges have a, 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. Admissions officers can count and will notice if your participation hours exceed the number of hours in a week! Its accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted. The US Armed forces status allows you to list whether you are currently in the armed forces, have been previously enrolled, or are the dependent of someone serving in the armed forces. Then, you will want to subtract weeks during which the club didnt meet. Or, if your parents might have faced difficulties with their jobs, use this section to expand on that. Sometimes students make the mistake of listing accomplishments without actually describing what they are. Leaving the answer as Undecided will show admissions officers that you have not put much thought into your interests or future career choices. Even though you spend much more time running the clinics than you spent hosting the equipment drive, you place the drive further up on your activities list because it was more meaningful to you. The honors section of the Common App is reserved for you to list your academic honors and awards. University applications are the individual application processes that schools use, independent from one another. 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? If you feel like five spaces isnt enough to describe all of your accomplishments, use the Additional Information section at the end of the application to talk about the rest of your honors. They want to know that you have researched the school and that you are genuinely interested. Tier 3: These lack the distinction of Tier 1 and 2, but still highlight students interests. Honors and awards students commonly list include: Deans List, Language Honors Society, National Merit, Congressional Award, Valedictorian, etc. These examples should help you write a great Common App activities list: DECA Executive Vice President. If you need it, this space is yours to describe those impacts. You should order your activities in order of personal importance to you! Colleges are of course free to support other practices outside the Common App, but the Common App works to support practices that have been found to be easy to administer and understand for hundreds of colleges and millions of applicants over the years. For example, if you completed a summer course the summer between freshman and sophomore years of high school, you would select 9th. Admissions officers go through a lot of applications. Work shifts at gift shop and assist customers with check out and locating merchandise. Yes! Timing of participation: all year, summer, school break, etc. Dont worry about committing to your future life path in this section. You could also use it to address any disciplinary action that might exist on your record. If that is the case, refer to your practice or game schedule or estimate based on the semester schedule. Mention specific faculty members you might want to do research with. What was the outcome? Explore more than 1,000 colleges on Common App. Be sure to list your Honors and Awards in descending order of recognition, listing your international awards first, followed by national, state/regional and school. As with the Activities List, this student is able to use the content in this section, even within limited space, to successfully convey her academic potential, community contributions, and artistic ability. Follow the same guidelines as suggested for the activities list for awards you received during the summer, selecting the year that preceded the summer! The Common Application Honors List is separate from the Activities Listit can be found under the Education Section of the Common Application. How to complete the Common App Activities Section. But, bringing people together, is easier said than done. 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. crisis. 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. Below, youll find an Example Common Application Activities List! Also, remember that you dont have to list ten activities just because the space is available; some require much more of a commitment than others, so its okay if you only have 5 activities that are time intensive and mean a lot to you. This is not to say that you cant join a new club as a junior or senior, you definitely can! For example, if you are interested in the biomolecular sciences and cancer research and decide this will be your hook, you should be able to demonstrate that interest through activities like working as a professors research assistant at a medical school, taking related classes at a college or university, or writing about cancer research-related topics in your school newspaper. 2018 conference champions; led weekly trainings for the JV goalkeepers; organized team bonding events. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. If youve transferred schools, there is a section that allows you to discuss this transition. We connect applicants and those who support them to a wide array of public and private colleges and universities across all 50 U.S. states, and 20 countries. Besides knowing you as a student and person, your recommender should also be familiar with the components of your application and your Application Persona. 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. A lot of schools have specific questions that they want to ask about your interest in their campus and course offerings specifically. Highly selective universities Ivy League schools like Harvard and Cornell, for exampletend to accept the Common Application and other application types, like the Coalition application. Of course, this isnt necessary for well-known awards like National Merit that are self-explanatory. As usual, be careful when transcribing information onto the Common App. What are extracurriculars and why do they matter? If you intend to continue a particular pursuit in college, it shows them that you are truly interested and dedicated to it. Testing cancellations occurred for everyone, students across the world coped with online learning, and more. Be as specific as possible here. Your activities list is the key place you can demonstrate your hook to admissions officers. Many schools allow score choice - where you are able to choose which SAT and ACT scores to report. You could be going up against people from your school and from your area. Many high school students dont know exactly what they want to do. They use the. If you claim to spend ten hours per week on all ten activities, colleges will know youre exaggerating, to say the least. The Profile section asks for: Make sure to fill out this section very carefully, as its easy to mix up information such as your first name and last name. The easiest way to calculate this is to first look at your schools calendar and count the number of weeks between the first week of school and the last week of school. Heres an example: You may know that the R.J. Simmons Award is given to students in your high school who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to community service, but college admissions officers have no clue. After you choose the activity type, the application will ask you to describe the position you held (or hold) and the organization name. Good luck! Here are two examples of what an activity can look like once you have filled out each of the 9 fields! The college application is a big deal. Moreover, make sure your recommender is someone who takes the time to sit down with you, has time to dedicate to a careful letter, and is enthusiastic and excited about your application. Prospective students fill out their basic information, and the service shares the data with all of the applicant's chosen schools. The school spirit of TCU is unlike any other school. Financial Aid Award Letter Comparison Tool. The Common App COVID-19 question speaks for itself. You can always come back to this guide for tips and tricks, as well as visit any of the blogs linked on this blog to get more detailed information on how to approach each section. The Common Application will ask you to fill out 9 fields for each activity you choose to list. Do not write about middle school achievements, about others achievements, or try to accomplish too much. It can seem like the Activities section of the Common App gives rise to the most questions, and for good reason. As a result, this section only becomes available if you select one of the schools on the list. Common App and Reach Higher have united to inspire more people to complete their education and own their future, no matter what it holds. Copyright 2015-2023 Command Group Inc. All rights reserved. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. When choosing your topic, it is very important to remember that the admissions officer will be reading thousands of applications. It also lets you elaborate more on your gender identity if you dont identify as male or female. This fictional student demonstrates a strong hook in environmental science and art. This is your chance to list all the great things youve accomplished during your high school years. New Feature. 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. More and more, colleges are looking for indicators other than GPA and test scores to indicate strong students. 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. It will not make or break your application. You could use it to build upon any research abstract or include your art or writing portfolio. 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). Show them how youve grown stronger or how your topic has changed your perspective. Command Group Inc. is not associated with the College Board, Common Application, or any college/university or any of its affiliates. Those word limits and guidelines exist for a reason. -. Number one priority your school spirit must be an attention getter. 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. This shows us that theyre almost as important as academics! Why is it important? Well give you more tips and tricks about crafting your activities list below, but lets start by discussing. This section is limited to 50 characters. Biden quoted the teacher in saying, "There's no such thing as someone else's child.". You do not want to list a C instead of an A! How do you complete it. Cookie Notice Even listing one or two awards is better than leaving the section blank. Our reviews and recommendations are based on extensive research, testing, and feedback. If you need to add more activities, use the additional information section or your essays. 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.

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