Do I Need a Resume for College Applications?
Families often ask me if they need a resume for their college applications. The answer? Usually not.
Students may assume that a resume is a standard part of applying to college, particularly if they’ve already heard about friends creating one or have already put one together for jobs, internships or summer programs. But for most college applicants, a resume is optional. Submitting one doesn’t necessarily strengthen an application.
What Goes on a High School Resume?
Many colleges allow students to submit an optional resume through the Common Application. A typical high school resume includes information about:
Educational history: high school attended, GPA, test scores, and sometimes relevant coursework
Extracurricular activities: jobs, clubs, athletics, volunteer work and any other meaningful experiences outside the classroom
Skills: languages, technical abilities, certifications, or any other specialized talents
Honors and awards: significant academic achievements, contest wins, creative or academic publications, etc.
But most of this information already appears elsewhere in the college application.
Why You Probably Don’t Need a Resume
For most students, the Activities section of the Common App provides enough space to fully describe their involvement. Students can list up to ten activities, describe their roles and contributions, and indicate how much time they have devoted to each.
Admissions officers are not interested in reading a resume that simply repeats information from the Activities section. In fact, adding extra material that does not share any new information can make an application less compelling and more cumbersome.
Instead of aiming to submit as much information as possible, I’d recommend that students focus on making sure the information they do submit is meaningful.
When Can a Resume Be Helpful?
A resume can be useful when it provides important information that doesn’t fit elsewhere in an application. For example, a student might consider submitting a resume if they have extensive work experience, significant leadership responsibilities, substantial research or creative work, or activities that require more explanation than the Common App allows.
A resume can also provide additional context for a student whose involvement doesn't fit neatly into the traditional categories found on a college application.
Keep It Short!
In my conversations with college reps, I’ve been told that admissions counselors rarely spend much time viewing student resumes. If they even read a resume at all, it’s usually only in a brief glance.
No matter how accomplished a student is, a traditional high school resume should always be limited to one page. Admissions officers have to review thousands of applications, and a well-organized one-page document is much easier to take in than a multi-page catalog of everything a student has ever done. Students should not feel pressured to fill up every inch of the page, padding their resume with unimportant or outdated information.
Know When a College Wants More
There are exceptions to this rule, so students should always check each college's application requirements.
One example is UT Austin, which has historically encouraged applicants to submit an ‘expanded resume.’ An expanded resume is different from the standard one-page resume used for jobs and internships. It can provide much more detail about a student's activities, employment and other experiences.
Whenever a college specifically requests a particular document, always follow their guidance!
The Bottom Line
Generally speaking, students are unlikely to need a resume for their college applications. While some students in special circumstances may benefit from submitting the document, and some schools do require resumes, these are exceptions to the rule. Unless a resume would add meaningful new information to your application, you're usually better off letting your Activities section speak for itself.
