<p>Is the best strategy just to fill out the activities section on the Common App as fully as possible, then just add additional information as an upload? The activities list in Acing the College Application seem like the people just ignored the Common App activities section (they're that detailed). </p>
<p>It just seems a little disjointed to have half my activity description on the Common App and the other half as an upload. I don't think a whole activities list is a good idea (I just need to add some additional information, plus admissions officers are swamped as it is).</p>
<p>The problem is that the Common App listing doesn’t let you organize and describe your activities very well. For example, if one of your activities in the common app is “music”, you might want to use that as a heading in your attachment and then report on 1) the instrument(s) you play, (2) the orchestra you played for, (3) the music lessons you give, (4) the composition you got an award for and (5) the music camp you attended, and then CITed at. </p>
<p>Not every school accepts an attachment, but why not provide it and the admissions officer can decide to ignore it if he/she chooses to? At least you’ve had a chance to ‘tell your story.’</p>
<p>Of course, if your ECs are limited to school clubs and titles, then you probably don’t need this, but many people are counting on their ECs to differentiate themselves.</p>
<p>Just upload a full blown resume with all of your information. I don’t think it would hurt if a few things ended up being a bit redundant. What’s most important is that you give them the big picture and find ways to highlight the most important items to which you want to draw their attention. </p>
<p>D really took advantage of the opportunity to upload a document which could pretty much contain as much info as she wanted, formatted the way she wanted, etc. As M’s Mom points out, they have the option to ignore whatever they want, but at least she got a chance to present it the way she wanted them to see it. So far it’s worked out great for her doing it that way.</p>
<p>As I recall the Common App says to fill out the EC section even if you send or attach a resume. My D filled it out as well as the space would allow and uploaded a more detailled activity list.</p>
<p>My son needs to explain one of his grades and include a detailed activity list for his accomplishments in debate. Any suggestions on how to do this with common app? (You can’t fill in the box and upload a doc. It seems weird to include both of these in the same doc.)</p>
<p>Yes, seperate the pages and label the sections. It’s all just a matter of organizing it and formatting it well. You can include different types of information on the uploaded doc.</p>