How To Fill Out Common App Activities

College Admissions

How to Complete the Common App Activities Section

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Updated: August 15th, 2021

The activities section of the Common Application is your chance to show colleges what you're involved in outside of the classroom. You'll be required to list and describe the extracurricular activities you've participated in during your high school years. This is an important component of your application, so we're giving you some tips and a common app activities section example!

Also read:When should I apply for college?

What is the Common App Activities Section?

Before we jump into our tips and tricks section, let's make sure we have a clear understanding of the Common App activities section. As we've mentioned, this is a chance for colleges to see what your life is like outside of the classroom. They want to know what kind of clubs and organizations you've been a part of during high school. More than anything, though, they want to know what kind of impact you made on those clubs and organizations.

According to the Common App, activities include arts, athletics, clubs, employment, personal commitments, and other pursuits. In other words, nearly anything productive that you're involved in outside of the classroom can be counted as an activity. You're allowed to list up to 10 activities, but you're certainly not required to fill all 10 slots. On average , most students list around 6 activities.

The Common App sets the following character limits for each activity:

50 characters – Position/Leadership description
100 characters – Organization name
150 characters – Activity details, honors won, and accomplishments

Now that you have a solid understanding of the activities section, let's go over some key tips that'll help you out when describing your activities.

Also see:How to write an essay about yourself

Use phrases instead of sentences

To make the most of your allotted 150 characters, you'll need to get straight to the point without sacrificing important details. To do this, you should use short phrases instead of full sentences. Here's an example:

Don't do this:

Vice President, Art Club

For three years I was a member of my high school's art club. I attended meetings and assisted with group projects my first two years, then was elected vice president during my final year. As vice president, I sent newsletters to members and organized a fundraising campaign.

(274 characters)

Do this instead:

Vice President, Art Club

Organized fundraising campaign, wrote and distributed newsletters, contributed to group projects, member for 3 years and vice president final year.

(147 characters)

Use strong verbs

The way you phrase your descriptions has an impact on the way you're perceived by admissions officers. To maximize your impact, you'll want to describe your activities in the most engaging way possible. This means using verbs that are more specific . Here's an example:

Don't do this:

Counselor, Boys & Girls Club

Looked after campers, thought of new group activities, was in charge of counselor meetings, developed friendships with campers.

Do this instead:

Counselor, Boys & Girls Club

Supervised 25+ campers at a time, brainstormed new group activities, oversaw counselor meetings, mentored and encouraged campers.

Use quantitative descriptions

Whenever applicable, try to use quantitative descriptions instead of qualitative ones. Adding numerical values provides concrete proof of your success and clearly demonstrates your impact. Here's an example:

Don't do this:

President, Yearbook Club

Dedicated several hours a week, recruited countless new members, organized a fundraiser that collected hundreds of dollars.

Do this instead:

President, Yearbook Club

Dedicated 10+ hours a week, recruited 6 new members, organized a fundraiser that collected $475.

Don't repeat yourself

You only have a limited amount of space to describe your activities, so it's important that you're not being redundant. This means that you should avoid repeating words from your position description in your activity description. Here's an example:

Don't do this:

Team Captain, Cross Country

As team captain of the cross country team, I helped my coach organize practices, recruited new runners, organized team bonding sessions, and lifted team morale.

Do this instead:

Team Captain, Cross Country

Helped organize practices, recruited 4 new runners, organized team bonding sessions, and lifted team morale.

Keep order in mind

Finally, it's important to be mindful of order when you're filling out the activities section. The first activities on your list should be the ones that you were most involved with. If you held any high-ranking positions, be sure to give those the highest priority when ordering your activities.

Key takeaways

Do's	Don'ts
Short phrases	Full sentences
Quantitative descriptions	Vague descriptions
Be concise, but detailed	Repeat yourself
Use strong, specific verbs	Use general verbs
List your most impressive activities first	Forget to be mindful of order

Also see:How to complete the Common App Honors Section

How does the Common App Activities section work?

Types of activities

The Common App provides a drop-down menu with a wide variety of activities that you can select. We've listed some of the most popular ones below:

Academic
Art
Athletics: Club
Athletics: JV/Varsity
Career-Oriented
Community Service (Volunteer)
Computer/Technology
Debate/Speech
Environmental
Journalism/Publication
Junior R.O.T.C.
Music
Research
Science/Math
Student Govt./Politics
Theater/Drama
Work (paid)
Other Club/Activity

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