We asked S2, a strong writer, to create a resume consisting of two essays about his top 2 ecs. he added a simple bulleted list called “other stuff”. The essays were very strong, who knows if they helped, but ultimately he was admitted to all his reach EAs and his reach ED.
My D, not as a strong a writer, has put together a more traditional resume. It mostly covers what’s in the common app but does provide added detail and gives the reader a better sense of who she is.
A friend’s daughter attends a top private school and they require a resume be submitted with the common app, so I’m thinking it’s probably a good idea. thoughts? and if yay, is there a page limit?
I’ve not heard of a “resume” attaching to the CA, but the statement your S2 added on 2 ECs is consistent with general advice to focus on fewer ECs in-depth rather than a laundry list. I’m wondering if the required resume at the private school is for the guidance counselor’s use in writing her recommendation.
“Most students who are admitted to Penn do not submit supplemental materials. All of the information that we feel is crucial in making an admissions decision is contained within our required documents. There are some students for whom some additional information can be beneficial, but we recommend that you think very carefully before sending in supplementary material. If information is already included somewhere in your application, that information does not need to be submitted again in supplemental form. In many cases, too many extra documents can take away from the strengths of an application.”
That said, my son submitted a resume along with his app there and was accepted. Son was applying to the business school and in his mind resumes are de rigor in business… He worked long and hard to craft that resume though.
but IDK - in talking to a few other admits this topic came up and most had said they didn’t submit one…
My daughter had a resume with her common app (HS actually required the kids to make a resume to graduate) - it was two pages and bullets (like a professional resume) - I liked that is was able to expand on a unique EC (volunteering at a historic site) - she was also able to list awards she had received - I wouldn’t go longer than two pages
Generally speaking, if the application packet is somehow incomplete in your opinion without either a Resume or clarifications added to the Common Application’s Additional Info section within the writing tab, then you should find a way to submit such. Some colleges allow for a Resume to be attached to their Supplement to the Common Application, but most do not. I would not allow that to dissuade you however. You can always find a way to fax it in or email it in to the Admissions Office generally or to a specific admissions officer.
I would certainly recommend sending one if it adds depth and dimension, like for a Creative Portfolio, for example.
If a CV/Resume is not going to add value or greater depth and information though, I would not recommend sending one in simply because you feel that you need to do so.
I think most students are better off using the Add’l Info section to expand on important ECs/honors/unusual circumstances.
A complete resume, by definition, will include a lot of the same info already in the application (name, address, school, test scores, honors, activities, jobs, etc).
The Add’l Info section allows students to add emphasis/details to those areas important to them, without giving AdComms another document to review that may or may not contain anything new.
@quietdesperation Quite a few private and public Common App colleges that my son applied to requested a resume to be uploaded. And, when they didn’t ask, he sent one to admissions for his file anyway. His 2-page “professional” resume seemed more impressive somehow than the short blocks on the Common App. He used the “Additional Comments” section on the CommonApp to discuss a few things that were not on his resume.
We talked about resume vs. no resume for a few schools, and decided to submit one to all because it was not likely to hurt him. Where a resume was not required, he used it as an excuse to touch base with the admissions counselor in an email or file upload to “update” his file and express continued interest. Not sure that it helped, but who knows? Out 21 applications (too many), his outright rejections were MIT and UC Berkeley for engineering. Then he was eventually rejected by a few more where he was on waitlists.
I submitted a resume to my schools, if there wasn’t a space on the common app for me to submit it, i would find my admissions rep and email them asking for it to be included in my admissions profile, I felt my resume provided more information than I could fit in the common app while also showing my interest in the school by going out of my way to submit it
Two of my kids did arts supplements for activities in the arts that were a focus over many years. The application was incomplete without these. But one of my other kids found the common application and regular essays covered everything so he didn’t submit anything supplemental. It depends.
There are “captains of industry” who are 55 years old, have a stellar record of achievement both personal and professional, and can write a one page resume.
Trust me- so can your kid. I read resumes for a living and virtually all two page resumes can be condensed into one. The adcom’s know the meaning of what most of the awards, citations, EC’s that a high school kid does. The two page (or a few three page) resumes that HS kids insist on bringing to their alumni interviews go into needless detail. I know that the Brandeis book award doesn’t mean that a kid wants to go to Brandeis. I know that winning the regional mock trial competition, and you were captain, means that you had both leadership AND research/oral argument responsibilities. I know the difference between singing in the chorus of the spring musical and having a solo. I even understand why lacrosse and rugby are different sports, so you don’t have to waste a line counting up the sports you play, or the number of seasons that you play them since I realize that kids in Minnesota don’t play softball in December but DO play ice hockey.
Two pages??? Adcom’s read applications for a living.
@blossom I agree the resume can be condensed to one page but then it’s just repeating (consolidating) dry common app info. While you may know what destination imagination is you won’t know my D used her knowledge of 10th grade chemistry to transform a dress into a litmus strip to recreate a Holy Hai festival on stage. It’s these little tidbits, which don’t fit into the common app, that help tell her story.
My oldest had a local, promotional website since middle school, and he referenced it in his college apps. By its nature, it acted as a resume of sorts. It also had a tracker because he used it to develop business and focus his advertising.
We were surprised that colleges actually visited the website and lingered on the resume. The tracker monitored this type of data and many times a college’s name itself was identified as the visitor; sometimes this data was not available but due to the city and state where the website was viewed, he was able to surmise what college was looking. Some colleges viewed multiple times.
Because of this, he was able to see what colleges viewed his website, which pages they viewed, how many times they visited, and the dates they visited…and even what time and what type of computer they were using. He didn’t expect that colleges would actually log on and look him up; the website was referenced merely as an accomplishment.
I have never advised somebody to submit a resume with a college app, but I always tell students to reference a website if they have one, and make sure it’s in tip top shape… And having a nice “about me” section on there can’t hurt.
@prospect1 Thank you for posting that info. That is counter to what a lot of people are suggesting about zeemee pages. My dd is creating a zeemee acct to highlight some accomplishments. She is really hoping schools will check check it out.
How many years ago was this? Not too long ago, it was quite a novelty for a kid to have a website. Now they are a dime a dozen and I wonder whether this would get much attention. I also suspect a website that was an important part of a kid’s major EC would be of far more interest than a website just created as an online resume.
I don’t think there’s a big right or wrong on this. Yes resume; no resume; 1 page; 2 pages. Do what seems right to you, unless the school forbids an outside resume. For my son, the 2-page resume seemed like a good idea to enhance the Commin App short, boring blocks. I agree with @quietdesperation.