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4 years ago
Admissions Advice

How do I know whether to upload a resume and what to put on it?
Answered

Hi, I'm wondering what admissions officers' expectations are around resumes. Do they want everyone to submit them or do they see it as overkill? If they do see it as a plus, what type of content should it contain? Similar to or different from the extracurriculars list and awards section?

I'm considering using a resume to mention things that aren't quite significant enough to put on my EC list but that are still important to me (online classes, lifeguarding, swim teaching, honor society tutoring, other interests etc.) Will it look weird if I leave my most significant achievements off of a resume because they're included somewhere else in the application? If so, which things should I repeat/not repeat?

I'm just generally a little confused about the role of the resume in the admissions process--I'd appreciate any insight!

resume
applications
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Accepted Answer
4 years ago

Generally, the rule I've always followed around resumes is that, if they include important aspects of your experiences or profile that you can't reasonably fit elsewhere in your application, then you should submit them. If not — i.e. if you can fit all of your info neatly into your Activities List and Additional Info section (which is where I would put those less important activities if you already have 10 on your Activities List) on the Common App — you shouldn't submit them unless a school requires you to.

I would mention though, because it's unclear from your question, that you should always fill up your Activities List no matter how "insignificant" an activity might feel. If you have more than 10 items and you need to cut some out to fit the more important ones, that's fine; if you don't have ten, you should absolutely use those small additional activities to get yourself up to 10. Honor Societies can also go on the Awards list.

If a school does require you to submit a resume, I would not leave anything off of it. It should be a comprehensive account of all the things you've done in high school, and even if it's redundant with your Activities List, it should put your most important activities front and center. In the most ideal scenario, a resume is something an admissions officer can look at a few days after they read your application to quickly refresh themselves on your activities and profile, so it should include everything relevant to that on it.

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1
4 years ago

You should put as many ECs that you did for over a year on your application as it still holds value unless you have like 20. The lifeguard sounds promising as part of a app

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