Common App Activities Section

Just some questions:

  1. Does being in the school choir count as an activity? (As in, I receive grades)
  2. If I hold an officer position in an honor society, should I mention it in the honors section or the activities section?
  3. Are school clubs that meet like once a twice a month worth mentioning?
  4. Can a high school graduation requirement be included in the activity section? (Such as, volunteering for a certain amount of hours?)

If you can’t tell, I’m struggling to come up with activities/extracurriculars….if you have any advice about this please comment them!!

Some additional info: I’m in NHS (I’m assuming colleges already know you volunteer a certain amount a time so you don’t have to mention them in activities), French Club (does some service, but meets more frequently for fun, cultural activities. doesn’t seem worth mentioning), and UNICEF Club (I raised money for different fundraisers, etc. but the club meets like once a month). The most solid thing I have going on in the activity section right now is volunteering for my elementary school library. I’ve also dabbled in self studying German (it’s an on and off kind of thing depending on how busy I am with school).

Thanks for reading!

  1. I wouldn't put it as an activity if it is listed on your transcript, unless you do a separate after-school choir beyond just the class.
  2. Put it in the description of the activity (ex. President of National Honors Society)
  3. If you have space, if they are meaningful to you, if they add something to your application, sure. Totally up to you.
  4. I'd say yes; guidance counselors have to say in their report how many hours of community service are required for graduation, so they'll know it was required, but if you want to give details of the specific service you did, then you could list it as an activity for sure.

thank you @dreamthief001