Resume

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

There is a section on the common application where an applicant can list his “activities.” This section only allows for up to 10 activities. There is also a section where you can attach your resume. Should my resume include all of the extracurriculars/sports/service, etc… that are listed under the “activities” section?

My thought process tells me that admissions counselors may get annoyed reading an application with the same activities submitted in 2 different areas, but i also think that the more they hear about what you are doing the higher they will think of you.

I have a fairly robust resume and i believe it would loom just fine without those 10 activities, but some of those activities i would really like to drive home. The best example of this is my participation in the Boy Scouts of America and my rank of Eagle Scout. I put this under my activities section, but leaving it out of my resume almost leaves me feeling like its incomplete. This is also something i really want the admissions counselors to know about.

Your Thoughts?

2

If you are going to include a resume, it should include a full, albeit brief, picture of you (education, experience, etc); that’s what a resume is. You shouldn’t leave important activities OFF of a resume just because they are included in your app.

However, I am also of the general opinion that you should only include an ‘optional’ resume if you need more space than the app has - both ‘activities’ and ‘add’l info’ sections - to elaborate. If a resume has nothing new on it, I don’t think its of much use, and may even be a distraction to an AO who is taking the time to read it, and realizing there is nothing new there.

Reality - not everyone is impressed by BSA/Eagle Scout. You should be focused on what YOU DID, and not just relying on the label of ES as being impressive.