Crafting a Standout Activities List for Your College Application Part 1

Discover how your activities list can be the secret weapon in your college application. While the spotlight often shines on the essay, I've found that a well-constructed activities list can speak volumes about your potential contribution to a campus community. Join me, Jen Schoen, as I walk you through the steps to crafting an list that is meaningful to you AND resonates with admissions counselors. From the not-so-simple following directions to organizing your high school experiences meaningfully, this episode offers invaluable insights to ensure your application stands out for all the right reasons.

Don't let the activities section be an afterthought in your college application process. I share practical strategies to help you reflect on and articulate your high school journey, highlighting what truly makes you unique. By presenting your achievements clearly and thoughtfully, you make the admissions officer’s job easier, increasing your chances of being remembered. 

For more about me - my experience and my speaking, check out the links below.

You can reach me at jen@firstgenfm.com.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenschoen/
https://www.firstgenfm.com/speaker-high-school-educators-students-parents

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:10

Welcome to the College TNT podcast. I know you're saying what is College TNT and who is this for? Well, first of all, it's for you. If you're listening and you're interested in getting tips on going to college and tips on thriving in college, whether you're a first, you're interested in getting tips on going to college and tips on thriving in college, whether you're a first-generation college student or a continuing education college student, then this is the podcast for you, because I'm going to be sharing how-tos, sure, about essays and activities lists and putting your best self into your college application, but I'm also going to talk a lot about mindset and practice and things that you can do when you get to college to make it the best experience possible.

Speaker 1: 0:53

Welcome to College TNT. I'm Jennifer Schoen Please call me Jen and we're going to talk a little bit about the activities list, because today I want to talk to you about part of the getting to college, especially the admissions process. And again, we're want to talk to you about part of the getting to college, especially the admissions process, and again we're going to talk about something that's often overlooked. Everybody likes to talk about and focus on, the college essay, but I want to spend some time talking to you about what I think is really important, and that is the activities list. That's what shows us how you're going to contribute to the campus community. So this is going to be a two-parter, both pretty short, but I want to start first with how you get ready to do your activities list and things to think about. So the very first thing I want you to do is look at what they're asking for and follow the directions. Now you may say, well, duh, jen, of course I'm going to follow the directions. I'm putting my best self on paper here and I want them to see that I can follow directions.

Speaker 1: 1:47

But you would be surprised to know that a lot of people don't complete the activities section. They don't fill it in just how the admissions folks are asking for it. They just put C attached. They just throw their resume in there later and are like, well, the admissions people can read that that's great, but it's not great. So here's why you don't want to just say, see attached and throw your resume in at the very end. It's because, as someone who's reading lots and lots of applications maybe a big stack of applications I'm doing this because I used to read actual folders right that you would pull down off the shelf and read them. But now it's all online but I'll have a queue and I'll have to read a certain amount and it's easier for me if I'm reading it in the exact order that we're asking for them on the application, and if every application is similar, I can really pick out those important things that you want me to know as an admissions counselor. So don't just write in there see attached and then I have to go find it. It takes me out of my rhythm. I have to go and find all the information. It's in a different format than I've asked for. You're making my job as an admissions counselor harder and you know, if you've ever had that where like, oh, you ask somebody to do something a certain way and they do it in a totally different way that's easier for them versus how you need to have it so that your work can be the best, then please, by all means, follow the directions and do it like the admissions folks are asking for. On that application. They will thank you and you will appreciate it because they won't have to be searching around and maybe miss something that you really think is important because it's somewhere on this. You know two-page essay that you lovingly crafted, but it's not in the way that we're asking for it. So I know I talked a lot about that, but following directions super important.

Speaker 1: 3:38

The next thing I want you to do is to make a list of all of the activities you've engaged in from ninth through twelfth grade, and I know that may. For some of you, maybe that's like oh, that's going to be really quick, I don't have a lot. For others of you it may be longer, but I want you to list everything. I want you to take that time to reflect, and not just reflecting on what happened within the four walls of high school, so clubs and organizations, activities that you engaged in in your high school community. But I also want you to think about the things you did outside of high school, maybe your place of worship and what you've done there and been involved in there. Maybe it's a job that you've held or different jobs that you've held or promotions that you've had.

Speaker 1: 4:20

You definitely want to include that. Maybe it's some summer programs that you've engaged in that showcase something that you're passionate about, and maybe what you want to go into once you get into college as your major, or maybe it's family obligations, that are significant things you have done over the years, while you were in high school, to help your family, whether that's translating, whether that's taking care of siblings or parents or elderly family members. Think about all of the things you have done and just brain dump them, just write them all down and take the time to do that. Maybe you take, you know, five minutes, you do that, you leave it, you come back to it, you do it again. But it's good to make sure you get everything in there, because then what you're going to do, after you know what the instructions are, after you've brainstormed and put everything down, you could think of and had some reflection time, then you're going to want to organize it.

Speaker 1: 5:18

And in part two I'm going to talk to you about ways to think like an admissions counselor. Put your little admissions counselor hat on. Think like an admissions and what it is that we're looking for when we're looking at your application. Whether that's maybe a scholarship application or a college application, a lot of it is the same and that is leadership, commitment, service, prestige and passion, and I will talk about those next time. So thank you so much for joining me. If you have questions or comments, you can put those below if you're watching this on YouTube, or you can always reach me at Jen that's J-E-N at firstgenfmcom, and I would love to hear your questions and your emails because I'm here to serve you and help you understand all about the college process as best I can. So, thank you, and I'll talk to you again in part two very soon.