We are officially in the pre-submit era of college admissions.
Never heard of it? That’s because I made it up. But if your house currently revolves around essay revisions, application deadlines, and “Are you finished yet?” conversations, you know exactly what I mean.
Before your student hits submit this week, take time for one final review. After all that work, make sure the application clearly and accurately reflects who they are.
Here are seven things I want students to check.
1. Check the spacing in your essays and supplements
An essay that looks perfect in Google Docs can look different once you paste it into an application.
In the Common App essay text box, you cannot indent paragraphs the way you would in a document, so use space between paragraphs to separate them. You do not need to double-space the entire essay.
Always check the application preview before adding extra blank lines. If your paragraph breaks already create clear spacing, leave them alone. You want readable paragraphs without large gaps.
Read every essay and supplement after you paste it. Look for missing paragraph breaks, unusual symbols, extra spaces, and anything that did not transfer correctly.
2. Make your activity descriptions about what YOU did
The activity list is not a directory of clubs at your high school. It should help an admissions reader understand how you spent your time and what you contributed.
You have only 150 characters for each Common App activity description. Do not waste that space repeating the organization name, your title, or the hours already listed in other fields.
And unless an unfamiliar organization needs a little context, skip the general description of what the club does.
For example:
Too general: “Key Club is a community service club that helps people in our community.”
More useful, if accurate: “Organized food drives, recruited volunteers, and coordinated monthly service projects with local nonprofits.”
The second description tells us something about the student.
Ask yourself: What did I organize, create, teach, manage, contribute, or improve? Include specific responsibilities and results when you have them.
You do not need to invent impressive numbers or make every activity sound like a leadership position. A clear description of your actual contribution is much more useful than an inflated one.
Need help making those 150 characters count? My $47 Activity List Workbook walks students through identifying their contributions and writing clear, specific descriptions. If your student’s list mostly explains what each club does, this is a good place to start before submitting.
Get the Activity List Workbook HERE!