How to fill out Activities section in Common App?

Applying to College
1

After picking the type of activity, it says “Position/Leadership description and organization name, if applicable”. If it is a club within my school, do I have to write the name of my school? Do I have to specify the grades of my leadership positions?

It then asks “Please describe this activity, including what you accomplished and any recognition you received, etc.” Does this have to be in complete sentences or just short phrases of what I did, separated by commas? For example, for Student Council I wrote “Devising and working school events, Fundraising, Increasing school spirit, Voicing student body’s ideas”.

Should I put National Honor Society as Academic or Community Service? What about Spanish National Honor Society?

Should I list activities that I have leadership positions in as more important?

2

There is a lot of flexibility so you can organize and describe activities in a way that works best for you. There is no right or wrong way to do this as long as the basic instructions are followed. It is fine to use phrases – no need for complete sentences in small space. You can put leadership roles first if you consider those most impressive – list does not need to be chronolgical. NHS is usually considered academic but if that is where you did most of your volunteering then it is worth including it there.