Snail mailing info to admissions office

<p>There is hardly any space on the application of S's ED school to list extracurriculars and employment/volunteer work. And, no place to list honors/awards. Doesn't the common app have a spot for this?</p>

<p>The admissions office told S to write "see attached sheet" on the online application and snail mail a separate list with ECs and work/community service. He is to write "student credentials" on the envelope. I'm surprised because I thought admissions offices don't want extra pieces of paper--yet more to review and possibly lose in the shuffle. How much time does the adcom spend reviewing this stuff anyway? </p>

<p>Is this unusual? I don't know why the school didn't design its own application so there was enough room for all this information.</p>

<p>The common ap has similar constraints. My son doesn't have enough to make it a big deal (ECs are heavy, but concentrated). But, I've often wondered how much of what I see on CC students' states makes it onto the ap. </p>

<p>I would just make it as simple looking as possible....</p>

<p>The way my D solved this last year was to check the school's own application.
If the college stated specifically "do not send any resumes or extra materials", then
don't. Some were very clear about this. However, if this was not specifically discouraged, she ALWAYS sent in her Activity Sheet, along with an extra essay if she had one that she could use.</p>

<p>I believe,as does she, that it really helped her. She had one EC that was
her significant one, by orders of magnitude. I think it gave her the chance to really
illustrate the depth of her passion and made her a more attractive candidate.</p>

<p>My S used the school forms, including the Common Application, but snail mailed the package which included the additional sheets for extra information plus list of college courses and descriptions.</p>

<p>Common app is notoriously ridiculous when it comes to the EC portion of the app. My D made sure that leadership and awards were highlighted in the actual section, but then appended a sheet which explained the ECs in more detail. Because she was attaching the extra sheet, she decided to mail out the hard copies rather than applying online.</p>