2
3 years ago
Admissions Advice

activity section in common app
Answered

ok so in common app there is a 150 character max for "Please describe this activity, including what you accomplished and any recognition you received, etc." i don't really know what to put in it or like how to word it properly. like at the soup kitchen i would restock shelves and organized the food that came in and help customers. like do i just say it that simply? i don't want to undersell myself i want to make sure i emphasize the work i did.

there is a 50 character max for "Position/Leadership description" - what do you write for that? like i volunteered at a soup kitchen regularly but like what position would that be? would it be like active volunteer or something else.

or what if i was a member of a club but not like a ranking officer then what do i put? do i just put member at large or something like that?

pls help and thank u in advance! i appreciate it.

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3 answers

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Accepted Answer
3 years ago

You answered your own question. Keep it simple. You can just put "Member" and "Volunteer," no adjectives necessary. They'll be read the same way regardless.

Just make sure you include your most significant actions and contributions in each activity. They keep the characters limited to force you to be succinct. You can add in the larger impact of your participation (helping develop a more empathetic community, or something), but it really isn't necessary or expected.

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1
3 years ago

One of the best pieces of advice I can give for the college application process as a whole, advice that is important here is 'be yourself'. Don't worry too much about overselling/underselling -- just be honest about the contributions you made to this soup kitchen community and represent these contributions in a way that demonstrates your strengths while remaining authentic to yourself. Think about the skills required to perform the duties you undertook and the impact you made. Even actions as seemingly simple as restocking shelves and helping customers are valuable and indicative of certain core competencies and skills you possess -- be proud of the work you've done and own these skills! Be thoughtful, hold your head high, and be truthful!

I hope this is helpful, and good luck -- you've got this!

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3 years ago

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