Because students and parents may not know what these sections of the Common App are and how to take advantage of them (we think these are frequently underutilized, but can really strengthen an application if used effectively), we’ll clarify what these sections are, and link you to our in-depth guides for the how-to.
Here’s how Jorge Delgado, Associate Director of International Admissions at Brandeis, thinks about the Activities List: “Extracurricular activities can be a great opportunity to see how an applicant has self-directed their passions and interests. There are only so many hours in the day, so seeing how a student has involved themselves outside the academic arena is a great way of understanding their potential fit for a university campus.”
Keys to making a strong Activities List are:
Use stronger verbs. In short: Are you describing your activity in the most dynamic way possible? Most students aren’t. Why? Because they’re using just-okay verbs.
Develop better (and perhaps a bit more) content. Have you included a wide range of responsibilities? Most students forget to include solving problems, gaining skills, and making tangible (and even quantifiable!) impact.
Demonstrate skills & values. Are you communicating what you learned or how an activity changed you? If not, you may be leaving money on the table.
For how to do so, check out our Activities List guide here.
The ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SECTION
The Additional Information section should be thought of as “additional”—if a student leaves it blank, that can be totally fine. And the “information” part is really important—don’t try to sneak in an extra essay (that can actually piss off a reader). But this can also be a great tool for adding context to an application.
If there are things that don’t fit elsewhere in a student’s application—that they live in a single-parent or low-income household, for example, or that they’ll be the first generation to attend college, or that they have online courses and other activities that didn’t fit elsewhere and that give a fuller picture of who they are and what they’ve done—then the Additional Information section is a great place to clarify those things.
