I have a college giving the option to submit my resume and I really want to but I also plan to further explain my activities in the additional information section. I don’t want to be redundant so should I not submit a resume if I already explained the activities in the additional info section? If I don’t submit the resume to that college, would it look unprofessional?
The issue with the Common App activity section is that it only allows me to describe my activities in 150 characters. I only committed to 4 activities but they are so complex and can’t be fully explained in that section. I couldn’t list my awards or progression in the spaces. In fact, how I explained my activities in that section doesn’t even make sense.
Your resume wouldn’t give you much more room than that either. Or put another way, you shouldn’t be using a resume to write a book on your activities.
If the resume is duplicative, don’t include. If the school has an essay asking you to describe an EC in depth, use that. If they don’t, well, that tells you something. You could use the addl info section to explain more, but again, you need to be judicious.
How long is this resume going to be? If more than a page or two…it’s too long. Resumes typically summarize what is on them, much like the space on the common application.
Not sure you need to submit the same information twice.
Some schools allow a resume - so in that case it’s not a problem. But don’t force one in.
You can find a way to write, re-write, and re-write your activities some more in order to get them to the 150 - you simply need to ensure it conveys what you did.
No 18 year old’s resume should be more than a page - and no, not 9 font. I’m mid 50s and my resume is one page. You are one of many they are evaluating so they’re not going to give you an extra 5 minutes. When I get a two page resume - and I know I’m hard core -but the 2nd page goes in the trash. If you can’t convey yourself up front, you’re not right for me - and I know others who do similarly.
If your ECs are so complex that they can’t be explained in a couple of simple sentences (and I honestly can’t imagine why), you will disadvantage yourself. The application reader is not going to have the time to read, comprehend and appreciate a lengthy write-up.
Keep it simple and follow the advice posted by others above. If you’re not sure how to simplify your description, maybe get input from others.
Agree with the other posts. Keep your descriptions of your ECs simple, and don’t use the resume as an “out” to contain lengthy descriptions that aren’t possible on the Common App. The common app is designed the way it is - including the limited amount of space for ECs - because that’s what colleges want. If they wanted read through lengthy descriptions of activities, then the common app would include more space for that.
Also agree with @tsbna44 about keeping your resume to one-page. Many professionals with decades of experience have a one-page resume - high school students can definitely keep it to a page.
Your guidance counselor should be able to help you.
Perhaps you’ve got activities which are pretty esoteric- but your GC will know the more common lingo to describe them. I’ve seen applications which devote an entire paragraph to what could have been “volunteered at a historic society cataloguing 19th century archives”. Or seen four sentences which could have been “won essay competition on the history of women’s suffrage”. The English language is pretty versatile!