The Activities Section of the Common App
What is the Activities section of the Common App?
The Activities section of the Common Application (CA) is one of the places where you get to share more of yourself than just your GPA and test scores. If the CA essay shows colleges who you are, the Activities section is where you tell them how you spend your time. Both sections are critical to give an admissions committee a well-rounded picture of what you have done in high school and how you would add to their student populations in college.
When should you complete the Activities section?
I like for my students to complete this first on the CA. I do this because once you have all your activities organized, I think it becomes easier to decide which activity/interest you want an admissions committee to know more about. Then it becomes easier to think about what else you want to talk about in the other parts of your application.
What counts as an activity?
An activity is something a student spends time doing other than their school work. It should show a particular interest or passion or be something that adds value in their life and/or others’ lives. It does not have to be something that a student does at school. The CA says examples of activities might include:
Arts or music
Clubs
Community engagement
Family responsibilities (learn more)
Hobbies
Sports
Work or volunteering
Other experiences that have been meaningful to you
So that still makes it hard to decide if something is an activity or not. Let’s try some examples.
A student loves baking. She bakes brownies every week for her family. Not an activity. She follows baking blogs like Buzz Tasty, actively experiments with and tweaks new recipes, and creates divine delicacies each week. That is an activity.
A student has two dogs. Not an activity. She hikes her dogs daily, grooms them daily, buys and stocks all their food and treats, and feeds them every morning. That is an activity.
An activity is not an academic award or honor. There is a separate section for that.
How many activities should I write about?
The CA gives you space to write about ten activities. Not every student has ten activities to write about, which is okay. An admissions committee is looking for significant activities for you. They want to learn about what you do. For some students, that will be spending a huge amount of time on only one or two things, and for others, that will be spending less time on a more significant number of activities. There is no magic number of activities to write about. The thing to remember here is to write about what is important to you and important for an admissions committee to know about you and your interests.
Playing basketball (BB) for one semester freshman year may not be important to you and not an activity. Playing BB for one semester freshman year might make your list because you love BB and are a diehard fan. You have researched and memorized every BB statistic, have an extensive BB jersey collection, and are considering majoring in Sports management. This is an activity.
Example: I handed out fliers at the senior center one afternoon last summer. Nice, but maybe not significant. This is not important to you, not an activity. Every Wednesday in the summer, I hand out fliers at the senior center, and I play cards and talk with my 85-year-old friend Kay. Kay is an important friend. This is an activity.
What should I do if I have too many activities that I think are important?
This never seems to amaze me, but young people today are seriously busy and accomplished. I often find students have too many activities. The first thing to do is see if you can combine any of your activities. For example, I have a student who was very involved in Theater and Musical Theater. He acted but also stage managed and Managed Tech Crew for different shows. He also had many other activities, so he wrote one activity as Theater/Drama. Then he put “Actor, Stage Manager, Tech Director” as his Positions. Then used organization to list the different theater groups he was a part of. Then he listed various highlight shows in the please describe section. He did not get in everything, but he got in enough. If you combine activities and still can not fit all of your significant activities into 10, you may consider using the Additional Information section. This should only be used for substantial additional activities. For example, I have a student who just completed the Tufts Mini Med Program. Her final project was picked 2nd best out of 59th and is being featured on The Tufts Center for Science Education website.
How much space do I have to write about each activity?
Position/Leadership description — 50 characters
Organization Name — 100 characters
Activity description/accomplishments/recognition — 150 characters
What else does the CA want to know about each activity?
What grades were you in when you did the activity?
If you participated in the activity during the school year or on school breaks?
How many hours a week do you spend on the activity?
How many weeks a year do you spend on the activity?
If you plan on participating in the activity in college?
Please be thoughtful about if you want to do this activity in college. Remember, colleges are looking at not just who you are but how you will add to their student population. It is okay to say you do not want to continue something in college.
How do I write good activities with so little space?
You use your space very wisely and do not repeat any words across the position/leadership, organization name, or activity descriptions. For example, if you are the Editor of the school paper, do not say you edit the paper. Instead, say, “Manage staff of 20, write articles and copy, create layout each week for 20-page product.”
Do not write complete sentences; instead, list things.
Use strong, positive action words and fewer adjectives and adverbs
Be specific.
Quantify your involvement, use numbers, and do not spell out the word. For example, 1st out of 66 state championships.
Emphasize leadership skills.
Describe current activities in the present tense.
What is the correct order to put my activities in?
Your activities should be listed according to how important you think they are for an admissions committee to know about you. An admissions person will pay more attention to your first activity than your 10th.
What do I do this year about all my activities that have been canceled because of COVID?
It is best to write what you did in your activities section, not what you did not do. For example, if you rehearsed for the lead Maria in Guys and Dolls but did not get to perform it because of COVID, I might add, “lead Maria Guys and Dolls 20 hours rehearsals.” Or if you were supposed to be the Captain of the baseball team but had no season, I might write, “Captain Elect baseball team, spring training. “
Suppose you feel that something very significant to you did not happen because of COVID, and you were able to create something positive from that experience. In that case, you might write about that in response to the new 250 COVID word question of how COVID affected you or in the additional information section.
Who can help me brainstorm my activities or check my work?
Your parents/family are usually the perfect people to help with the activities section. They can not write anything for you but are a great help with making sure you do not forget any activities. After all, your mom and dad remember every detail of what you have ever done!