At the bottom of the ‘writing’ section of the princeton’s common app, there is a section to attach a document that reads “Please attach a document if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application.” Is this an invitation to attach my resume? I’ve heard that adcoms hate when extra paperwork comes in (excessive letters of recommendation, 1000 word essays etc.) so I was wondering if this was the same circumstance. Do they want to see my resume (which I feel presents me much better than the common app activities section) or is that not its purpose? If not, what is this section for? A short letter stating extenuating circumstances or… Thanks for the responses in advance!!
“Hate” might be too strong a word. However with 27K applications, they certainly do not want extraneous documents. The instructions are straight forward. If you feel that there is some further details that need to be highlighted, write something. However, a resume where the AO has to read to wade through the duplicate info to find any areas that they think is what you want to highlight is probably not the most effective route.
what I’ve been doing for other applications that do not provide space for a resume is just putting the specific information, sans overlap, in my additional information section. Would this be sufficient? Or should I move this extra info to the dedicated portion on princeton’s app?
No. The Common Application no longer allows students to upload documents, as too many students were uploading resumes and college’s don’t want resumes, as the information is duplicative of other sections of the Common Application. If Princeton wanted a resume in that section, they would have included the words “resume.”
So, my recommendation is to NOT upload your resume, nor include that information in the Additional Information section, but bring a one-page resume to your alumni interview in case you are asked for one. Here’s a sample resume: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1667731-college-interviews-resume-vs-activities-list-p2.html
They’re being clear, asking you to " attach a document if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application." If “the shoe fits”, attach a document providing the missing details. Nothing more, nothing less. Don’t make the mistake that extra information provided to your interviewer will make up for an incomplete file. Good luck!
@gibby, the Common Application does allow students to upload documents underneath each school’s individual Questions section or their writing supplement section. Also, although I’m sure this application was sent a long while ago, I’m not sure what it accomplishes to vehemently tell someone that it is a bad idea to submit a resume. Perhaps this resume truly does shed more light on the student’s narrative of his or herself. Maybe there wasn’t enough room on the Common Application to describe the activities, or maybe not all of the activities/awards would fit. I think a much better route to take would be to be as encouraging as possible in these situations, since all colleges really and truly just want to get to know you as a person – are you the kind of person Princeton wants on their campus? @tuty143, best of luck with your application, and I hope you made whatever decision you deemed best in the end! 
Happy New Year.