It is important to keep track of how you spend your time so that you will be able to include meaningful activities on your college applications, and also job or internship applications. There is different formatting for how you report activities for colleges versus on a resume for jobs or internships.
Reporting activities for college applications
College applications include a section for you to enter 8-10 activities. Anything you spend your time doing counts as an activity, including sports, clubs, volunteering, jobs, family responsibilities, religious organizations, music groups, etc.
The information that is required on your college application is:
- Activity name (for example, UW Math Science Upward Bound)
- A description of what you did in that activity
- The description should be short and concise, but explain the activity clearly. Focus on what YOU did in that activity, not just what the activity was. Example: don’t explain the rules of soccer, instead write about your role on the team, how long you have been playing, if you have won districts or something, etc.
- Grades you participated (check boxes for 9, 10, 11, 12)
- Whether the activity was during the school year or the summer, or both
- Weeks per year, on average, you participated
- Hours per week, on average, you participated
- Any positions you held, leadership, or awards won
Reporting activities for a resume, used for jobs, internships, scholarships
A resume is a document that shows the experiences you have had that make you a good candidate for a job, internship, scholarship, etc.
Resume requirements: contact information, education, and experience
Contact Information
Make sure you have a professional sounding email address. You should include your phone number, but it is important that you have a voicemail set up and that you check it!
Education
Include your school, city and state, and expected graduation date. When you add a college you should include major or intended major. GPA, relevant classes, and SAT scores are optional.
Experience
Whether paid or unpaid, include any experiences that have given you transferable skills (work, volunteering, school clubs, sports, etc.). Include the name of the employer, activity, or organization; your position or role; the city and state; and the date range of involvement.
Resume writing tip: Use the format… ACTION + TASK + RESULT
- Begin with an active verb showing what you did
- Describe the task you completed, or purpose of the action
- End with the result, ideally showing the impact you made
- Example: “Mentored younger students as they learned to read, including helping my mentee reach grade level.”