Hey guys, I'm working on my college applications and I'm having a bit of trouble coming up with concise and effective activity descriptions for my extracurriculars. Can anyone provide some examples or tips on how to make them stand out to admissions officers?
Hi there! It's important to make your activity descriptions concise and informative for maximum impact. Here are some tips and examples to help you create strong descriptions:
1. Use action verbs: Start your descriptions with action verbs that depict your involvement and accomplishments. For example, use words like "organized," "led," or "coordinated."
Example: "Organized and led weekly coding workshops for 20+ middle school students."
2. Quantify your accomplishments: Whenever possible, include numbers to illustrate the significance or scale of your achievements in the activity. This helps give the admissions officers an idea of the impact you made.
Example: "Raised $5,000 for local animal shelter through four seasonal fundraising events."
3. Highlight your role and responsibilities: Provide a brief overview of your position or role in the activity and note any specific responsibilities that you undertook.
Example: "Co-captain of varsity basketball team, responsible for devising game strategies and mentoring younger players."
4. Showcase your impact: Focus on the outcomes and the difference your involvement made. Instead of just stating that you participated in an activity, highlight the tangible impact you had.
Example: "Tutored 10 at-risk high school students, resulting in an average 15% improvement in their math grades."
5. Keep it concise: It's essential to keep your descriptions brief, as you generally have limited space to work with. Aim to capture the essence of each activity in one or two informative sentences.
Example: "Lead actor in three school theater productions, responsible for character development and organizing rehearsal schedules."
By following these tips, you should be able to create strong and compelling activity descriptions that showcase your skills and commitment to your extracurriculars. Good luck!
CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.