Hello, I’m preparing my application and was wondering if anyone had any advice on writing the essay and creating a resume specific to Dartmouth. I want to complete my accomplishments and add more activities than allowed in the common app. Any format suggestions and do you suggest it be repetitive or only include info not on the common app activities section? Thank you soooo much for your help!!
“I want to complete my accomplishments and add more activities than allowed in the common app” For schools like DMouth – it’s not a race to fill all the slots. Indeed, you should even consolidate to 6-7 activity groupings. You’re entrusted with listing the topmost activities in the order that you’re most devoted to. That 8th or 9th item? Were you REALLY devoted to it? And would it alter Dartmouth’s impression of you if they were omitted? Not at all.
Colleges don’t want resumes – they’re perfectly happy with the ten activity slots in the common app plus your 1-2 line descriptors for each. They’re fully capable of evaluating you.
If you feel one or two activities really need expounding, use the “additional information” section and add a few BRIEF lines.
Brevity is to be valued. I get that it sucks to have to condense your 3-4 years of activities – but your docs are going to get a ten minute scan by someone who’s looking at 30 files that day. Don’t submit a novel. As much as you’d hope: in 99% of cases, you’re not that special.
Best of luck to you