<p>chaosakita, some kids do have broad interests and it certainly isn’t the end of the world.</p>
<p>My younger son’s school activities were orchestra, the literary magazine and Science Olympiad. He was just a cog in the orchestra and mag. He’d won medals and was one (of server) co-presidents of SO. He wrote about things he did outside of school (making origami earrings and doing some historical related work for the neighborhood association.) None of this had anything to do with International Relations his prospective major. (He didn’t do Model UN because he didn’t like the kids involved.) He didn’t submit a separate resume, but did some grouping of activities.</p>
<p>In general I think lists aren’t terribly helpful, but if you’ve done something for four years it shows commitment. I don’t think you need to invent responsibilities if there weren’t any. I’d definitely put down the academic summer program. Put it where it seems most logical. </p>
<p>I’d say what my younger son did was ask himself - what do I want the college to know about me, and then make sure that they found that out somewhere either via an essay, a teacher recommendation, an EC list etc. So one essay showed his arty side, another showed him thinking like a historian, his Why ___ College showed his sense of humor, the weird optional essays generally showed either creativity or quirkiness. I think by the end of his application admissions officers had a pretty good idea of what he was like.</p>