<p>After a thread I commented on here, I'm wondering. I know that all the admissions books I've seen recommend not just listing your top five ECs on the app like it says. So what is everyone doing? I'm leaning towards a full activity sheet (ok actually like 4 sheets) with the same basic format as the app only with a lot more explaination. What is your plan?</p>
<p>buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuump</p>
<p>yea i'm planning on typing up a chart giving more description because some of my ECs aren't self-explanatory. One of the books I read said to keep these charts to 3 pages or less.</p>
<p>Three sheets of activities?! Four sheets?! Sorry, but this sounds nuts to me. I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I did. </p>
<p>I used the chart to list my five most important activities. Then on ONE sheet I elaborated on those five (and only those five) activities. Sure, I could have filled up three sheets if I listed everything I had done since I was a freshman, but I thought that it would be better to limit it to the five most meaningful ones and write a paragraph on each one. I figured that admissions officers know how many hours there are in a day and know that there is a limit to the number of things that you can truly devote yourself to. </p>
<p>Was I right to do it this way? I'll never know for sure but Dartmouth, Harvard, and Princeton all thought it was fine to only write about five things.</p>
<p>Short is good. I couldn't tell you with 100% certainty, but I do know that when you are writing a resume, you want to keep it to at or under 1 page.</p>
<p>Besides, you really think a college admissions officer is going to want to read 4 pages of everything you did in High School?</p>
<p>Hmmm....did you use a different area to write about awards or something then? I'm really debating here because I have a LOT of activities and most of them need explanation I think. I don't know if I have 5 that stand out dramatically.</p>
<p>I agree with keeping it to one page. coldcomfort has the right idea.
Choose the activities that you have stayed with the longest and where you have shown growth, leadership, or made important contributions. Don't bother listing the clubs or activities where you just attended meetings and did nothing of significance.
You can list your awards at the bottom of the page, or include them when you write your brief paragraph about the activity that they relate to.</p>
<p>So could I also list a few other activities at the bottom? I'm a farm kid living in IL, so I want to bring out my...ruralness...by mentioning activities like 4-H, even though I didn't do much in them. So maybe focus on the top five, then list the awards and extra activities (without hrs/wk and wks/yr?). Thanks for all of this, my list as is was starting to look ugly anyway.</p>
<p>Students always think their activities need big explanations, but I have rarely seen high school students do MANY things that need elaborate explanations. Give the adcoms some credit. If one of your activities is somewhat arcane, maybe more explanation is needed, but most activities can be explained in three or four sentences, I would think.</p>
<p>That sounds like it would work. Play with it for a bit, and show it to your parents and others who know you and get their input. You want your activity list to show your strengths and passions, so ask those who know you best. Just keep it to one page.</p>