How do you list international awards, illustrations credits for a book published internationally and Founder and President of a 501c3 on the Common App? How do you decide where to put each extracurricular?
- Jacqueline, a parent in Grapevine, Texas
The Common App allows you to categorize your extracurriculars achievements into groups such as Academics, Art, Career, Journalism/Publication, Community Service (Volunteer), Social Justice, and more. Because many extracurricular activities fall within multiple categories, it can be confusing to decide where to put each one. I use a two-step strategy to decide where to place each one. This strategy helps create the applicant’s personal brand, thereby allowing the admissions officer to envision the type of student and contributor he’ll be on campus. Lastly, the specific words your child uses to describe his role or accomplishments can help tarnish or boost his personal brand.
Step 1: Pick the category with highest relevance to the activity.
Step 2: If there are multiple equally relevant categories, pick the category most related to your intended major.
For example, since your child is a published illustrator of an internationally-acclaimed book, that achievement could fall under either art or journalism/publication. However, since he is applying for a theater major, it makes more sense to categorize it as art as opposed to journalism/publication. Theater is more often considered art, not journalism. When application readers look at your student’s application, they will be able to imagine him as an artist who has relevant experiences to contribute to his other performing arts peers.
Using these two steps, you can figure out how to best list your child’s accomplishment as the Founder/President of a nonprofit organization.
Step 1: Was it most related to Community Service (Volunteer), Social Justice, Religion, or other? Choose the category most relevant to the duties he and the organization actually performed.
