Crafting a Captivating College Activities List Part 2

Ready to transform your college applications from ordinary to extraordinary? Join me, Jen Schoen, on College TNT as I reveal the secrets to mastering the activities list, a pivotal yet frequently underestimated part of the college application process. Admissions officers are not just looking for stellar academic records; they want students who will be part of a vibrant campus life. This episode unpacks the two critical questions admissions professionals focus on: your academic potential and your contributions to campus culture. The activities list offers insights into your dedication, leadership, and the unique impact you might have on a college community.

We'll navigate through the top five factors you should consider when crafting your activities list, encouraging you to think like an admissions counselor. From showcasing your long-term commitments to identifying leadership in various settings, such as a part-time job or family responsibilities, you'll learn how to highlight experiences that reveal your character and potential. It's not just about holding titles; it's about demonstrating growth and initiative. Tune in to discover how to organize and present your experiences compellingly, ensuring that your application captures the vibrant and meaningful contributions you’ll bring to your future college.

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: 0:00

Welcome back to College TNT. I'm your host, jen, and I am going to help you prepare for college, help you navigate the college admissions and scholarship process and make a smooth transition into your first year of college. So welcome to College TNT and thank you so much for joining me today. Hi there, and welcome back to College TNT, and this is going to be part two with me, jennifer Schoen, to talk about the activities list and why it's so important. Now I have read lots and lots of college applications at different colleges and to me, this is one of the most important part the activities list of your application. And the reason it's so important is because we in admission are trying to answer two questions when we're looking at your application. It may seem more complicated than that, but there's really two main questions. One is can you thrive academically at our institution? Are you going to succeed academically? Because you're here to learn and to learn skills and to learn critical thinking and to learn a specific discipline. That's the number one main thing. The second question we're asking is what are you going to contribute to the campus community? How are you going to contribute to the college that you're part of? Just saying I'm going to sit in a library all day and maybe talk to my roommate. No, we want this to be a vibrant campus. Everybody wants it to be a vibrant campus and a community where you're going. That's where the activities list and the essay comes in, but especially the activities list and again, I think it's overlooked a lot in terms of how important it is.

Speaker 1: 1:40

I want to talk a little bit about the five things you want to consider when you're deciding what to put in your activities list. Last part one I talked about how to kind of get ready, creating a big list of everything you've done in high school, both within your high school community and in your other community and with family and jobs and all that. Now I want to talk about how do you organize that? So think, put your admissions counselor's hat on and think like an admissions counselor. And here are the five things that we're really valuing when we look at your application. The very first one is commitment. We want to see that you've done something, maybe a year, two years, three years, four years even, because that shows commitment, that shows that you went in there, you found something you like to do and you stuck with it, and that's really important. That is more important than having 85, you know thousand different activities that you've done for a week or a half a year or you know one term. So commitment is important. So go back to that big list you made and see what are the things I've really committed to in the four years of high school. Okay, then look at your list and consider leadership. Now I define and we define. I'm going to speak for all admissions counselors, which is probably a bad idea, but generally speaking, we define leadership in very broad ways. So you may think right away oh well, I've been a president of this, or I've been an editor of the school paper or the yearbook, or I've had the lead in a play. Those are absolutely leadership things and you should put those in there. Captains of sports teams, those are all leadership. But there's other kinds of leadership Leadership in the family.

Speaker 1: 3:30

If you are working, those are leadership too. So let's say you're working and you started off in working at the local supermarket and your first job was cleaning all the grapes that got smashed on the floor, that fell off the produce area. That was your first job. But now you're the cashier. That shows promotion, right? That shows that somebody said like hey, you started here but, look, you have proceeded to do great work and so you got up to where you're handling the cash and you're having customer service. So that's leadership right there. So you want to make sure you put something like that in there.

Speaker 1: 4:08

If you have been translating for your family, because perhaps your parents, their English isn't very good, but maybe they have some medical appointments or they have some appointments to do any kind of official documentation, you're the one that's there and you are there for them to translate. That is leadership, so make sure you put that in there. So don't just think of leadership as president, vice president, secretary, treasurer it can be a lot of other things. So go back to that list you made of all your activities and think, well, where do I show some leadership in there? And again, it may not even be a title, but you could have coordinated something that showed leadership. So think about that very carefully, reflect a little on your experience and be prepared to put that in your activities list. Okay, so we have commitment and leadership.

Speaker 1: 4:57

Then we also want to think about service. Okay, have you looked sort of around? You know past yourself, past what it is you're doing, and look to see how you can serve others and maybe make the world a better place. If that's something that's important to you especially, you want to put those service community service activities in there. Now, put those service community service activities in there Now. It could be community service to organizations. Again. It could be some sort of service to maybe greater expanded family members or something like that. But consider service as that's something important.

Speaker 1: 5:31

Next up, prestige hey, if you have won awards, put those awards in there, because that is great. And be sure, when you put the award in, to explain you often have a little line or two to put it in there what the award is. Now, obviously, international and national awards are going to have more prestige than a state award, than a local award, than a school award, than a local award than a school award. But those are awards. So be sure to put any awards especially if they're meaningful to you in there that you have received. Now there's a space on the Common App where you can put your academic awards, so you don't have to duplicate that in here. But if there are other awards you've won for your theater, your sports, your yearbook, your place of worship, put those in there.

Speaker 1: 6:19

Okay, and then, last but not least, is the kind of I call it passion. It's a little bit nebulous maybe, but I think it's really important. There are some people out there who are really passionate about something and they do a lot of work around that. That's where their extra time goes. When they're not studying and they're not in school or they're not, they don't have a job, it goes into that passion. For some it may be e-sports or video games, and you excel at that and maybe you've been in competitions for e-sports. Like, that's a passion. You may not think that's important, but if that's something you've committed your time to, you should put that in there. Important, but if that's something you've committed your time to, you should put that in there. Maybe your passion is, you know, reading, and you have read this one particular author and you've communicated that with them about how their writing has influenced you. That is a passion. Like, put that in there. I'm not saying it's the first thing you could put in there, but by all means put that in there.

Speaker 1: 7:15

Research, maybe If research is your passion, put that in there and explain again, explain a little bit about what that is. And so those are the five things that I want to make sure you think about with your little admissions hat on. I'm an admissions counselor, I'm thinking like an admissions counselor. Here are the five things I want to make sure I get these in this most important order in there. Sure, I get these in this most important order in there.

Speaker 1: 7:39

Now, you may not have all of them, that's fine, but think about what you do. Have that, showcase those things and put that in your activities list. And now that's it for me, except for one more tip Always spell out the acronyms, especially if it's an acronym that's not nationally known. I have had many acronyms come in on the student activity list and I have no idea what they are because the person didn't explain it, so I can't really give them any credit for that. So be sure to spell out those acronyms whenever you get the chance. Sound good, all right, as always, feel free to reach out to me at jen J-E-N at firstjenfmcom, or leavea comment. If you're watching on YouTube, leave a comment below and I will look and respond to those and then share this with other folks who may need some tips to help them with their application. Thanks for joining me today and I'll talk to you again next time. Bye now.