How to Create Your Common App Activities List

Jun 24

For many students, the Common App Activities section feels like one of the easiest parts of the application. If you already have a résumé that you’ve been updating frequently since 9th grade, it seems like it should be a piece of cake, right?

Well, sort of. As with every part of the college application process, students shouldn’t underestimate it. The Activities List is one of the most important pieces of the college application because it shows admissions officers how you spend your time outside the classroom. It can reveal leadership, initiative, intellectual curiosity, community impact, family responsibility, creativity, discipline, and commitment. In some cases, it can even explain parts of the application that the transcript alone cannot: why a student had less time for clubs, why they prioritized work, or how they contributed to their family or community in ways that do not come with formal titles.

The challenge is that the Activities List gives students very little room. In just 150 characters, you need to explain what you were responsible for, what problems you solved, what impact you had, and what your choices reveal about you.

Different From A Résumé

A résumé usually prioritizes accomplishments, titles, and qualifications. The Activities List does some of that, but it has a slightly different job. In a college application, activities are evidence of how you live.

Colleges are trying to understand what kind of person you are likely to be on their campus. Do you start things? Do you keep showing up? Do you take care of people? Do you build community? Do you pursue questions outside of class? Do you use your talents to solve problems? Do you bring humor, energy, discipline, or care into the spaces you join?

A strong Activities List answers those questions through specifics. A weak description doesn’t make use of the allotted space, keeps things vague, and neglects important details. Do not assume an admissions officer knows what an acronym stands for, or that they know what a club entails, even if it’s popular. You need to be specific.

Here’s an example of a weak description:
“Participated in meetings and helped organize events.”

Technically, this might be true, but it tells the reader almost nothing.

What meetings? What events? What did you actually do? Participate in what way? What changed because you were involved?

A stronger description might say:

“Planned weekly meetings, trained 12 volunteers, coordinated 3 supply drives serving 200+ families.”

This version is still concise, but now we understand the student’s role, responsibility, and impact.

Start by Remembering What You Actually Did

Before you start trying to fit everything in just 150 characters, write down everything you did in a separate document.

For each activity, ask yourself:

What problems did I solve?
What were my daily or weekly responsibilities?
What did people rely on me to do?
What changed because I was involved?
Did I teach, lead, organize, fundraise, recruit, design, research, mentor, perform, compete, publish, create, or manage anything?
What skills did I build?
What did I learn about myself, other people, or the work itself?

The most important part of the Activities List is the level of detail you include. Think first and foremost about what you did rather than what the activity is about.

Pro Tip: You don’t actually need to draft anything on the actual Common App, nor should you. We advise students to build their list on a separate document, edit it until the descriptions are tight but detailed, and then copy and paste these into the application.

List the Most Important Activities First

In general, students should list their most important activities first, and this might not necessarily be the one with the most impressive title. Your most important activities are the ones that best represent your time, impact, commitment, leadership, values, or application narrative.

For one student, the first activity may be scientific research. For another, it may be a part-time job. For another, it may be caring for younger siblings every afternoon. For another, it may be dance, debate, robotics, religious leadership, athletics, political organizing, or an independent creative project.

When deciding the order, consider:

How much time did I devote to this?
How many years have I been doing it?
Did I have leadership or meaningful responsibility?
Does this activity connect to my intended major or academic interests?
Does this activity reveal something important about my character?
Would my application feel incomplete if this activity were buried at the bottom?
The order of the list tells the reader what to pay attention to. Use it strategically.

Don’t Neglect the Leadership Title and Organization Fields

Many students waste space because they do not use the title and organization fields efficiently. The Activities List gives students separate places to describe their role, the organization, and the activity itself. These sections should work together rather than repeat the same information.

You get 50 characters to explain your Position/Leadership and 100 characters for the Organization Name. That’s a lot of extra space! If you’re clever about it, you can make a lot of use of these two fields.

For example, instead of writing:

Position: Editor

Organization: School Newspaper

A student might write:

Position: Editor of International Column

Organization: The Highlander Student Newspaper

The second version gives the reader more context before the description even begins. It tells us the student was not just generally involved in journalism; they had a specific editorial focus. This saves them space to describe their role in the description field.

Similarly, “Researcher” is less useful than “Student Researcher, Quantum Curriculum Project.” “Volunteer” is less useful than “Volunteer Tutor for 3rd–5th Grade Math.” “Captain” is less useful than “Varsity Captain; Led 18-Person Team.”

You get the idea.

The more work the title and organization fields do, the less pressure there is on the short description.

Quantify Impact When You Can

Numbers are useful because they offer admissions officers a concrete understanding of a student’s impact.

If you raised money, say how much.
If you tutored students, say how many and the subjects you taught.
If you organized an event, say how many people attended.
If you managed a budget, include the amount.
If you competed, include level, ranking, or recognition when appropriate.

Quantifying your impact helps the admissions officer reviewing your application understand the scale of your impact and role.

Vary Your Verbs

This advice might sound like we’re being nitpicky, but there’s a reason you want to be specific when describing what you did. Because the Activities List is so short, verbs carry a lot of weight. Many students opt for vague verbs like “helped,” “participated,” “worked,” “assisted,” and “volunteered.” However, these are often too broad and don’t give admissions officers a strong grasp of what you did.

More precise verbs can show what the student actually did.

Leadership & Management

Directed: Guided the operations or strategy of a team/project.
Spearheaded: Took the lead on a brand new initiative.
Organized: Structured events, schedules, or physical materials.
Facilitated: Made a process smoother or guided a discussion.
Mentored: Provided guidance and training to younger/newer members.
Managed: Handled the day-to-day operations or budget.
Coordinated: Brought together multiple moving parts or teams.

Creation & Design

Founded: Started a new club, organization, or business.
Designed: Created the visual or functional plan for something.
Developed: Built out a program, website, or curriculum.
Launched: Introduced a new project or campaign to the public.
Engineered: Technically built or programmed a solution.
Authored: Wrote articles, newsletters, or policy drafts.
Produced: Brought a creative project (video, play, event) to life.

Service & Community Impact

Expanded: Grew the reach, membership, or impact of a group.
Mobilized: Rallied a group of people to take specific action.
Fundraised: Successfully gathered financial support for a cause.
Advocated: Campaigned for a specific cause, policy, or group.
Collaborated: Worked evenly alongside other groups or leaders.
Empowered: Gave others the tools or confidence to succeed.
Supported: Provided necessary backing or assistance.

Research & Analysis

Investigated: Looked deeply into a specific problem or topic.
Analyzed: Evaluated data or texts to find trends and answers.
Published: Shared findings or writing with a broader audience.
Presented: Shared information formally with a group or at a conference.
Synthesized: Combined different pieces of information into one coherent idea.

The goal is to be accurate. If you trained volunteers, say trained. If you built a website, say built. If you translated for family members, say translated. If you managed younger siblings after school, say supervised, cared for, prepared meals, or coordinated transportation.

Don’t Be Scared to Have Fun…

This advice is not for everyone. Some students are no-nonsense, and their descriptions should be direct, polished, and accomplishment-focused.

But if you’re a student who knows that, in your heart, you are funny or quirky, you could let that shine through, even in something as seemingly mundane as the Activities List.

Take this one, for example:

Position/Leadership description (50): Competitor in healthcare events
Organization Name (100): HOSA
Please describe this activity, including what you accomplished and any recognition you received, etc. (150): Self-taught improviser of bandages, splints, tourniquets; helped 150+ students mummify fractured limbs; led medical skill fair in 10+ healthcare areas

The above playfulness works because the student doesn’t hide what they did. We still understand the student’s role and impact, but we also get a glimpse of their personality through small jokes like “mummify fractured limbs.”

Here’s another example:

Position/Leadership description (50): Director of Activities (12), Member (11)
Organization Name (100): TJ Student Government Executive Committee
Please describe this activity, including what you accomplished and any recognition you received, etc. (150): Corralled teachers for Homecoming, Halloween, and Winter Bash events; first line of defense against cotton candy requests for dances; budget baroness

Again, this kind of description is memorable because it shows the student’s voice. But it still communicates event planning, logistics, and budget responsibility. However, personality should never come at the expense of information. A clever description that leaves the reader confused is not a good one. Voice should sharpen the description, not obscure it.

Do Not Hide Family Responsibilities, Jobs, or Informal Commitments

Many students assume that the Activities List is only for clubs, sports, competitions, and formal programs. However, some of the most meaningful commitments in a student’s life may not come with an official title. A student may work 20 hours a week at a restaurant. Another may be responsible for translating documents for a parent. Some students need to care for younger siblings after school. Others may help run a family business, or be required to prepare dinner, manage transportation, supervise homework, or support an elderly relative.

These responsibilities offer incredibly important context for your application. They might not have official titles, but they show maturity, reliability, sacrifice, and context. They may also explain why a student did not have time for more traditional extracurriculars.

Do Not Lie

This may seem obvious, but because the Activities List is short, students may feel tempted to exaggerate.

Make no mistake, though, that exaggerating or lying on your application is academic dishonesty, and it will jeopardize your chances of admission if the admissions committee discovers you have lied.

There is a difference between presenting your work strongly and making it sound bigger than it was.

Final Thoughts

The Activities List is short, but it should still tell a story; it just happens to be a story of time: where you spent it, who relied on you, what you built, what you cared about, and how you contributed. When done well, the Activities List shows colleges the impact you can have on their campus community.

Stephanie Santos