Why do colleges ask for resumes?

My resume seems to just be a regurgitation of the “Activities” and “Honors” sections of the Common App. Is there more information that I should include on it? Do they just want the same activities, but with more detail? Or should I focus on the “Skills” section? Or do they just want to see I know how to write a resume?

Application forms usually limit the number of honors, awards, activities etc that you can enter, whereas a resume allows you to put as much information as you want. For students who may have won 20-40 awards (yes, they do exist), a resume could add a lot to their application. If you do not have extra things you want to add that are not already on your application form, then I don’t think you need to submit an optional resume. If a resume is required for some reason, then think about how to make it impressive and add some detail to what is on the application.

The resume is purely a supplement if you have extraordinary experience that is better reflected in a resume than in the app itself. If the resume would have the same stuff as your app, don’t make one. You’re 17/18 anyways and having a resume is not expected. Besides, adcoms only have ~10 mins to read your app anyways and you don’t want to be bogging down your app with repeat info.