Should I include this in my application?

Applying to College
1

<p>Do I list my unweighted GPA along with my weighted GPA?</p>

<p>Do I list class rank?</p>

<p>Do I list activites done/100%-going-to-be-done in 12th grade?</p>

<p>Should I list activities, awards, etc. that haven't occurred yet but that I know 100% I'm going to do or get?</p>

<p>Does personal summer travel count under activites or summer activites?</p>

<p>Can/should violin lessons, private recitals, school litmag submissions, and art done outside of school/art class, but not publicly recognized, be included in my application?</p>

<p>Do I include a separate "honors" category on my application/resume or do I just put whatever honors I have under activites, academics, sports, etc.?</p>

<p>Do I include skills that I have? (Language fluency, Photoshop knowledge)</p>

<p>Do I do application disclaimers for why I didn't take this AP senior year or why I didn't do so well in Chem sophomore year or do I not? Is there a section of the application where I include it? Do I have to talk about it in my essays if I want to have a disclaimer at all?</p>

<p>Do I write one-liners summerizing my resume stuff or do I go more in-depth and list specific things, events, etc. that they do?</p>

<p>Misc questions:</p>

<p>How exactly do I write a resume? I have a word document example from my GC, but is there a format I have to follow?</p>

<p>How do I order/list my resume stuff?</p>

<p>If I attended a college convention featuring College A because College A was too far away to visit, and the convention had a signing list of who attended, does College A note that as interest in/a visit to College A? Do they even notice?</p>

<p>If I won the writing award at my school, took AP Lang my junior year, did well on the exam and course (AP Lang and Lit are only offered junior and senior years, no other honors, IB, etc. english courses are offered before then), got a perfect score on the reading section of the ACT, had my work displayed in the school litmag, and then possibly wrote some great/quirky college essays, and I decided not to take AP Lit my senior year for strong personal reasons (which I don't know how to state in my application) ... would top colleges look down on this? Should I take AP Lit over the regular english I'm signed up for, even when I'm already taking two math APs and an honors science course? Please please help!</p>

<p>You guys don't have to answer all of these questions line-for-line, but input would make my heart happy. <3</p>

2

<p>Do I list my unweighted GPA along with my weighted GPA?</p>

<p>-Most schools would require that, I think. Some also have their own way of calculating GPAs, so it would matter less.</p>

<p>Do I list class rank?</p>

<p>-If you feel its good enough, and the college doesn’t make it compulsory, then yes. If it is compulsory, then you’d have to, though the counselor would usually specify your class rank in the counselor supplement anyway.</p>

<p>Do I list activites done/100%-going-to-be-done in 12th grade?</p>

<p>-Only if they’re significant. Being a member of a club where you didn’t do anything would not help your application.</p>

<p>Should I list activities, awards, etc. that haven’t occurred yet but that I know 100% I’m going to do or get?</p>

<p>-Only list them if you’ve already got em.</p>

<p>Does personal summer travel count under activites or summer activites?</p>

<p>-This is subjective, but I’d say it does (summer activity).</p>

<p>Can/should violin lessons, private recitals, school litmag submissions, and art done outside of school/art class, but not publicly recognized, be included in my application?</p>

<p>-Yes, of course you can. Whether you should depends a lot on your intended major, the school you’re applying to, etc. Don’t overload your application though. I read somewhere that the best applications are the ones that are sleek and not stuffed with supplements and extra recommendations.</p>

<p>Do I include a separate “honors” category on my application/resume or do I just put whatever honors I have under activites, academics, sports, etc.?</p>

<p>-Your application (online) would not usually have a separate honors category.</p>

<p>Do I include skills that I have? (Language fluency, Photoshop knowledge)</p>

<p>-Yes, on your resume.</p>

<p>Do I do application disclaimers for why I didn’t take this AP senior year or why I didn’t do so well in Chem sophomore year or do I not? Is there a section of the application where I include it? Do I have to talk about it in my essays if I want to have a disclaimer at all?</p>

<p>-Soph year wouldn’t matter so much. College applications usually have a space where you can describe your individual circumstances. Don’t hesitate to use it.</p>

<p>Do I write one-liners summerizing my resume stuff or do I go more in-depth and list specific things, events, etc. that they do?</p>

<p>-On your application you’ll have about a line’s space to give a description of your activities. Consequently on your resume you won’t have to go into detail.</p>

<p>Misc questions:</p>

<p>How exactly do I write a resume? I have a word document example from my GC, but is there a format I have to follow?</p>

<p>-Google it. There are a LOT of resources talking about this. Don’t plagiarize though.</p>

<p>How do I order/list my resume stuff?</p>

<p>-Explained in the resources mentioned above.</p>

<p>If I attended a college convention featuring College A because College A was too far away to visit, and the convention had a signing list of who attended, does College A note that as interest in/a visit to College A? Do they even notice?</p>

<p>-I don’t know if they notice, but it usually does not help your application.</p>

<p>If I won the writing award at my school, took AP Lang my junior year, did well on the exam and course (AP Lang and Lit are only offered junior and senior years, no other honors, IB, etc. english courses are offered before then), got a perfect score on the reading section of the ACT, had my work displayed in the school litmag, and then possibly wrote some great/quirky college essays, and I decided not to take AP Lit my senior year for strong personal reasons (which I don’t know how to state in my application) … would top colleges look down on this? Should I take AP Lit over the regular english I’m signed up for, even when I’m already taking two math APs and an honors science course? Please please help!</p>

<p>-I’m not familiar with APs, I don’t know.</p>

3

<p>Do I list my unweighted GPA along with my weighted GPA?
Do I list class rank?</p>

<p>Your GC takes care of that on your rec. It is not your responsibility to report these. (You can Google CommonApp and look at a PDF of the new version to understand what I’m talking about.)
**
Do I list activites done/100%-going-to-be-done in 12th grade?**
Should I list activities, awards, etc. that haven’t occurred yet but that I know 100% I’m going to do or get?</p>

<p>It seems presumptuous to include awards you haven’t won, but if you’re participating in an on-going activity like a club, it makes sense to mark down that you participated senior year as well (assuming you did). For awards, you can send an updated resume when you actually receive them.</p>

<p>Does personal summer travel count under activites or summer activites?</p>

<p>Summer activities</p>

<p>Can/should violin lessons, private recitals, school litmag submissions, and art done outside of school/art class, but not publicly recognized, be included in my application?</p>

<p>Can? Yes. But if, for example, violin means little to you, putting down “Violin-12 years” might just clutter your app. Consider carefully what image you want to project, and work to project that rather than nebulous “resume builder.”</p>

<p>Do I include a separate “honors” category on my application/resume or do I just put whatever honors I have under activites, academics, sports, etc.?</p>

<p>Do I include skills that I have? (Language fluency, Photoshop knowledge)</p>

<p>You can, but again, don’t clutter your app. Language fluency may be very relevant to someone who has traveled a lot. Photoshop knowledge, however, just contributes to your art interest. Don’t list it.</p>

<p>Do I do application disclaimers for why I didn’t take this AP senior year or why I didn’t do so well in Chem sophomore year or do I not? Is there a section of the application where I include it? Do I have to talk about it in my essays if I want to have a disclaimer at all?</p>

<p>Your GC can include this in his rec, but it’s best to avoid excuses, especially if they’re mental illness (ie depression) or “my teacher is unreasonable” related.</p>

<p>Do I write one-liners summerizing my resume stuff or do I go more in-depth and list specific things, events, etc. that they do?</p>

<p>You can attach a resume if you need more space. Whether or not to do this is hotly contested on CC, but for those who can’t adequately explain their activities in a single phrase, it can be helpful.</p>

<p>How exactly do I write a resume? I have a word document example from my GC, but is there a format I have to follow?</p>

<p>Google it. There’s no one format exactly, but there’s still a general way to lay things out.
**
How do I order/list my resume stuff?**</p>

<p>I’d do it in order of importance and clustered by relatedness (ie all arts things together).</p>

<p>If I attended a college convention featuring College A because College A was too far away to visit, and the convention had a signing list of who attended, does College A note that as interest in/a visit to College A? Do they even notice?</p>

<p>If College A is prestigious or a big state school, they probably don’t care.</p>

<p>If I won the writing award at my school, took AP Lang my junior year, did well on the exam and course (AP Lang and Lit are only offered junior and senior years, no other honors, IB, etc. english courses are offered before then), got a perfect score on the reading section of the ACT, had my work displayed in the school litmag, and then possibly wrote some great/quirky college essays, and I decided not to take AP Lit my senior year for strong personal reasons (which I don’t know how to state in my application) … would top colleges look down on this? Should I take AP Lit over the regular english I’m signed up for, even when I’m already taking two math APs and an honors science course? Please please help!</p>

<p>Again, your GC can explain this.</p>