A resume is a resume, right? Well, not really. Whether you call it a resume or a curriculum vitae, not all are created the same, and the resume you used to apply for a summer job at the local day camp is not the same resume that’s going to get you into your dream college. In this post, we’ll outline the must-haves — and the must-avoids — for a killer college application resume.
First, though, do you even need one?
It is true that the resume is an optional part of most college applications. It’s tempting to see “optional” and think, “Great! That’s one thing I don’t have to do!” That is entirely the wrong approach. Optional isn’t optional. One more time for those in the back: optional isn’t optional. If you want to stand out, you need to go the extra mile and check every box — even the optional ones.
Most students who argue that they don’t need to include a resume use the fact that what’s on the resume is (in most cases) listed elsewhere on the application to back up their position. It’s true that resumes are a tad bit redundant in the case of a college application, but reframe it in your mind as a cheat sheet. An application reader can find your high school GPA and awards list elsewhere, but putting it all in one easy-to-reference one-page (more on this later) document makes their lives simpler and, subsequently, makes it easier for them to admit you to their institution.
Now that optionality is out of the way, we can break down what goes into a great college application resume. The essential parts are:
Header
Education
Educational Experiences
Extracurricular Experiences
Awards and Recognitions
Notable Interests
Header
Don’t forget to put your name on your resume. When you select a resume template (your word processing software — Microsoft word, pages, Google drive — will have options), please remember to put your name and contact information in. It’s sort of important.
Education
The Education section of your resume is simple. It should have the name and location of your high school, your GPA, and that’s about it.
Educational Experiences
This is the place for sharing clubs, academic initiatives, or even academically-focused summer activities that are related to what you want to study in college. A strong resume shows a clear focus and narrative, so it’s important not to bog it down with activities that are super divergent from the major or minor you’ve specified elsewhere in your application. Read more here about how you should never select “undecided” for your major.
Include a 1-2 sentence description of your role that emphasizes any leadership positions or recognitions, and the dates that you were involved (ex. October 2021-Present). Experiences from before high school should only be included if they are extremely impressive and relevant.
Extracurricular Experiences
Use this space to list 3-5 non-academic experiences that still relate to your area of interest, but perhaps in a looser way. For example, if you want to become a veterinarian and are a regular volunteer at the local Humane Society this would be a good place to share that. Do not include one-off experiences (something that only happened once) unless they are very impressive. Instead, focus on things that communicate your ability to stick to something over time.
Awards and Recognitions
If you find yourself running out of space at this point, you aren’t alone. First, try tightening up your activity descriptions, and then focus on listing any awards or recognitions you’ve received. If you don’t have any awards related to your proposed area of study, share ones that spotlight aspects of your character that will make you a good community member, such as a “Coaches Award” in a sport or an elected leadership position in a club not listed earlier in your resume. Unlike the two sections above, this should be a simple list without descriptions.
Notable Interests
This is the shortest area of your resume and, in some ways, the most fun. List 2-3 things that may show the application reader a different side of you, such as how you compete in sandcastle-building competitions with your dad each summer.
You may also have a “Statement of Intent” at the top of your resume, immediately below the header. This section isn’t necessary, but it is especially helpful for students applying to a specific program or course of study that expects prior experience. If you include a “Statement of Intent,” keep it general enough that your resume can be used across different colleges.
The Page Issue
The biggest issue we come up against with resumes when we first start working with students is page count. There is no reason, literally no reason, for a high schooler to have a resume over 1 side of 1 page in length. Not a single line should go onto a second page. You can argue as much as you want that your Rubiks cube championship deserves four lines, but we will not budge. One page, and one page only — and the fonts need to be legible. If you can’t make it fit, try harder.
Creative Resumes
If you’re pursuing a creative field, your resume may look a little different than what we’ve outlined above. Resumes for artists, writers, and filmmakers often replace “educational experiences” with “training” and “Extracurriculars” with shows or film festivals you’ve taken part in, or places you’ve been published.
Once your resume is set, save it as a pdf to preserve your formatting before submitting it.
If you need support in crafting the perfect narrative for your application, from resume to personal statement, get in touch. We’d love to help.