Best way to prioritize activities?

My son is filling out his common app activities.

Occupying spots 1, 2, 3:

  1. Varsity and JV lacrosse, four years
  2. Founder and president of Weightlifting/workout club
  3. Lifeguard

The others are a little trickier and he’s not sure what he should prioritize.

These activities include:

-Camp counselor and trampoline park attendant (paid jobs, summer 2017.)
-Model UN for 9th &10th grade, participated in two conferences, one in 9th, one in 10th.
-Animal shelter volunteer
-Volunteer at lacrosse tournaments and high school special olympics
-various paid odd jobs for a neighbor, including gardening and snow-shovelling, over the last several years.

His volunteer stuff is pretty minimal. He’s an ordinary teenager and has no awards or honors, other than high honor roll.

He is applying to one high reach school, several matches (state flagships), and a couple of safeties. My thinking is that he should probably prioritize his paid jobs, as really, that’s what he cares about the most, after lacrosse and working out. He wants to earn money, but I’m a little worried he might sound too one-dimensional. It’s so hard being objective when it’s your own kid, lol. Thoughts?

Flip a coin. Arrange them alphabetically, List the fist one started first. Ask the Magic 8 Ball.

Once you get the key ones listed (and, yes, I do think that the ones with most significance to the applicant be listed first), it really does not matter. It’s not the Red Sox batting order; no AO is going to wonder why activity X occupied the fifth position instead of the cleanup spot.

Thanks, @skieurope . I’m fresh out of Magic 8 Balls, so I appreciate the advice!

I see no problem with highlighting paid jobs (after athletics). I think paid positions show a level of commitment – it’s harder to fluff a real job on a resume than it is for volunteer activities. Don’t jobs indicate a kid is reliable and knows how to deal with different types of people?

I think it is fine to list the jobs right after athletics.

Any order would be fine. Admissions officers will read through the whole list. My two cents would be to list things he is currently doing (looks like animal shelter and volunteer for lacrosse/special Olympics) ahead of things he has done a year or two ago (ex. model UN, camp counselor). But if you find a Magic 8 ball that could serve you just as well!

Thanks again all. CC to the rescue!

Had to laugh, Lindagaf. Just finished your epic thread from two years, about your D, who sounds not unlike my D. But my D is now filling out the common app, and I’m cruising your threads, looking for suggestions about safety schools.

If I could get her to apply to Bates or Carleton, just down the road for home, I would, or, for that matter, Macalester, the stadium of which is visible out my back window. In any case, is you son looking for different kinds of schools than did your D, or were you able to shortcut the process the second time around?