Student Resume Can Boost College Applications

The college application process actually begins as soon as students embark on their high school journey.  Well before students identify their future college major or dream school, they start creating their personal journey through the activities, clubs, and organizations with which they engage. The best way to keep track of it all is to craft a resume and constantly update it throughout one’s high school years.

 

A resume is a worthwhile document to have on hand, as it is often requested of high school students seeking a part time job, internship, scholarship, or inclusion in a pre-college program.  Students should compose their initial resume during freshman year of high school, listing categories such as Academics, Athletics, Extra-curricular Activities, Volunteer Work, Employment, and any other fields in which they are engaged.  Resumes should continuously be updated, with the categories posted in decreasing order of importance. Thus, the category featuring the student’s most impressive accomplishments would top the resume.

 

On The Common Application, which is accepted by more than 900 colleges, students are given space to list ten activities. But they are limited in the amount of information they can include about each one. Often, students do not have sufficient space to enumerate all of their accomplishments and leadership roles for each activity. Thus, a resume can fill this gap.

Many colleges provide an “upload Resume” button on the Common App, and others suggest it be included in the “Additional Information” section. Some colleges “highly suggest” that a resume be submitted, which is very close to requiring it. 

 

Colleges popular with New Jersey students that provide space on the Common App for a resume to be uploaded include Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, Northeastern University, Stevens Institute of Technology, University of Connecticut, University of Delaware, University of Pennsylvania, George Washington University, and UNC Chapel Hill. 

 

By creating a resume early in their high school years, students will notice the gaps that exist while there’s still time to fill them in. These may include a lack of volunteer work, leadership roles, or engagement with school and community activities.  

 

A resume should be a continuously evolving document that students update on a regular basis. By the time senior year rolls around, it can be a valuable tool to strengthen their college applications by providing impressive details of their accomplishments that cannot be crammed into the limited space on the Common App. 

 

Susan Alaimo is the founder and director of Collegebound Review which offers PSAT/SAT^® preparation and private college advising by Ivy League educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362