Questions to Ask Yourself Before Filling Out the Common App Activities List

Extracurricular activities are a crucial way for colleges to get to know applicants better. On the Common App, this is known as the Activities list. The Activities section asks you to outline the activities you’ve been involved in and describe each one in a compelling and succinct way, highlighting leadership and commitment. As you’re drafting the descriptions of the activities you’ve been involved in, you may be tempted to simply write about the activity itself. However, what colleges want to know is what you did. To help narrow down what to include and the factors that you should highlight in the descriptions, ask yourself the following questions with each of the activities you hope to include on the Common App.

When putting together your list, you’ll find that you’ll need really specific information about each activity. To start, you’ll choose the type of activity from a dropdown list. Then, you’ll write a 50-character description of your position within that activity. Next, you’ll write the name of the organization, if applicable, in 100 characters (this field is optional, in case your activity isn’t associated with an organization). The next part is probably the most challenging: a 150-character description of the activity. Finally, you’ll check boxes and fill in fields indicating how long you’ve done the activity, how much time you spend on it, and whether you plan to continue participating in college.

• What’s an extracurricular activity you participate in that’s unique or unusual?
• What’s an extracurricular involvement that has played a big role in shaping your personality and character?
• Why does this activity matter so much to you? 
• How has your involvement in the activity changed over the course of the last four years?
• When did this extracurricular first start to matter to you? 
• Was there a specific event that sparked your interest?
• Have you won any awards for your involvement in this club or organization?
• Have you done something in this field or activity that no one else you know has done?
• Did you ever face a really big challenge in continuing to pursue this activity?
• Do you hold a leadership position in this activity?
• Has your involvement in this activity resulted in any quantifiable data, such as the amount of dollars raised, or number of followers you’ve helped the club grow on social media?
• Have you helped recruit new members to this activity?
• How many hours have you spent on this activity?
• Has the extracurricular activity had a major impact on you?
• Have you made an impact on the activity or group?
• Do you hope to keep participating in this activity in college?
• Who are the members in this activity? How have you impacted their lives or involvement in the group?
• Have you led any major initiatives within the activity?
• Where does this activity fit in when it comes to the context of the rest of your application?
• Is this activity in the same field as your intended area of study?
• Do the colleges on your school list have similar activities?

In your descriptions, you need to focus on your role within the activity that you participated in. Highlight any leadership roles you’ve held and what you contributed. Use active verbs to talk about your involvement. You don’t need to use complete sentences; a series of active-verb phrases that communicate your role within the activity will work perfectly well to fit the 150-character space.