How Do You Build a Winning College Admissions Resume?
There are many good reasons to compose a College Admission Resume. A high school resume emphasizes a student’s academic achievements, honors, school activities, community service work, summer jobs, leadership roles, athletic contributions, and performing arts endeavors. A resume can be particularly useful when filling out college applications by providing a comprehensive listing of a student’s accomplishments and academic history. For those writing a recommendation letter on behalf of a student, a resume can provide additional insight and information on the student resulting in a more effective letter. If a student is applying for scholarships, submitting a resume with the application is advisable. College applications may not present the chance for the student to reveal everything about themselves due to limited space. The resume would allow the student to list and highlight everything they feel is important.
Sophomore year is the perfect time to begin your resume! Starting early can uncover weak areas, while there is still time to build a well rounded resume. First, make a list of all of your extracurricular activities and academic accomplishments. You should include your honors and awards also. Some of the items that are important to include in your resume are:
- Heading: Include your name, address, email, phone number, date of birth, and high school attended.
- Education: List the names and addresses of the high schools attended (if more than one). You can include your GPA (only recommended if it is above a 3.0), and AP courses taken, senior year classes, and class rank or percentile (if you feel it will present a favorable picture).
- Activities: List your activities both in and outside of school, including the grades in which you were involved and any leadership roles served.
- Honors and Awards: List your academic and extracurricular honors or awards, along with the grades they were received in.
- References: These are optional.
- Work Experience: Start with the most recent experience and work backward. Don’t forget to list the dates, paid or unpaid, a job title, and a brief description of your responsibilities.
- Community Service: Again, list all community service work completed, along with the grades and any leadership roles served.
- Hobbies or Talents: This is your chance to tell the reader interesting facts about yourself that can set you apart from other applicants. If you are proficient in a foreign language or have outstanding computer skills, this is the place to let the reader know.
Keep in mind, a resume can be a powerful tool when searching for subject matter on which to write the personal statement or other essays. Also, the College Admission Resume can fulfill other objectives, such as when used to apply to summer jobs, internships, and special programs. In competitive college admissions, having a carefully crafted resume could give you just the edge you desire. If you have any questions or need guidance, please contact Pam at Helping Hand College Guidance.