<p>Hi everyone! I just had a quick question concerning the area for extracurriculars on the Common App.</p>
<p>I don't have enough room to list all of my ECs for the area given on the Common App. I am considering adding a brief resume in the Additional Information area so that I can cover everything I've been involved in. It wouldn't list every single bake sale or walk around the park that I ever participated in, but some of the clubs and activities that I've been really involved in just don't fit and I still want to be able to list those!</p>
<p>So, my question is, is it a good idea to upload a brief resume listing my ECs? And if so, would I only list the ECs that did not fit on the EC area of the app? Like, if I described my NHS involvement on the app, should I leave that completely out of the resume? Or should I just include all of my ECs on the resume, even if there are some repeats from the app?</p>
<p>If you REALLY have so many ECs that you need to attach a resume go ahead but you only list the ones that didn’t fit on the common app, you don’t want the adcoms to have to read the same thing twice.</p>
<p>Yeah, I only have like 2 or 3 that won’t fit, but they’re pretty major so I’d like to include them all! One more question, would you consider any summer programs attended to be ECs? Or would you just list them on the resume or a separate part of the app?</p>
<p>The problem you have is not uncommon. If you are sure that you should include all of these activities (and it sounds like you are), you have a couple of options:</p>
<p>One option is to include a resume in the Additional Information section of the Common App. I recommend this when students have too many high-quality EC’s to fit in the Activities section, or when there is important additional information about several activities listed (such as multiple awards won) that just won’t fit in those little 100 character sections. This resume would also include (and perhaps expand a bit upon) the activities that you list in your Activities section of the Common App.</p>
<p>If you have important details to add regarding one or two activities that you have listed in your Activities section, you might include a short paragraph of explanation, instead of a resume, in your Additional Information section. This is most helpful when an applicant really only needs to expand on one or possibly two activities. You can be very direct in this paragraph: “Please note that, while I listed State Champion under Competitive Whistling in the Activities section of my application, I have won the following Competitive Whistling awards as well:…”</p>
<p>I have had students who have used each of the approaches above with successful results. There is no hard rule here, it’s about common sense and making your information clear and presentable.</p>