If you haven’t expected your college of choice to require a resume as part of your admission process, and you currently have no idea where to begin, there’s no need to worry.
This guide is all you need to write a killer college admission resume that will not only set you apart from the crowd but will also act as a strong backup to your college essay.
Of course, if you are unsure about writing your own resume, services like https://www.arcresumes.com/local/new-york/ are great for helping you create the perfect resume, by giving you a helping hand in writing it!
However, if you are simply looking for some tips on how to get started, see below:
Quick Navigation
Contents
Think of your college admission resume as a regular resume, but instead of trying to convince an employer they should give you a job, you’re trying to show the college that you’re a good fit.
In your resume, you’ll need to include your academic profile: GPA, advanced coursework, and ranking, if available.
You’ll also want to add your co-curricular and extracurricular activities and awards. If you’ve done any internships, worked, or volunteered anywhere, you’ll also want to include those, as well as, your hobbies, interests, and skills. Don’t forget to include a heading at the top of your resume which contains your contact information.
In addition, if you’re applying for a business degree and you already happen to have a startup in the works, put your own website in there.
It would be nothing short of an impressive piece of information.
Pick your Format
Having a format that makes your resume a light, enjoyable read is essential to your acceptance.
Not to mention, it communicates how organized you are and how much you care about the opportunity to study at your place of application.
To set things straight, there is no one preferred format, but there are samples you could use, in addition to some tips and tricks that will help you settle on a final format.
When it comes to lists, use one form of bullet symbol and keep it consistent. As for your work experiences, arranging them in order from most recent to least is highly recommended.
Finally, make sure that the spaces between your lines are not too little that the resume feels cramped, but not too much that it’s hard to identify which line falls under which bullet point.
Know your Audience
Never has knowledge hurt anyone, especially when you’re trying to communicate something to someone who has never seen you.
While you’re going to be under the mercy of an admissions officer, you have the upper hand of knowing what they want. For one, any college admissions officer wants a curious, passionate student, and in your high school resume, you can easily show that through a reader-friendly format and a careful choice of language. Another thing they want is someone who will offer something new to their social body and you can capitalize on that when talking about your activities, skills, and volunteering, and work experiences.
By taking a look at your target college’s website, visiting their campus, or talking to some of the students there, you can understand more about their ideal candidate.
Be Concise
You’ve had the chance to use your stock of impressive vocabulary when writing your college essay.
When it comes to your resume, it’s best to let your achievements and experiences speak for themselves.
Keep in mind that some admission officers tend to take over-explanation as a sign of a lack of confidence in one’s skill set.
Whenever you feel the urge to go into details, take a beat.
Work on reducing your experience down to its core rather than indulging yourself in the little details.
Elaborate
We did say you should be concise, but this doesn’t mean you should summarize.
Providing elaborate descriptions for some of the items you’ve included in your resume can be the push your admission officer needs.
A helpful way to differentiate between elaborating and over-explaining is asking yourself, “What does this say about me?”
In the cases where you’re elaborating, you’ll find that your words provide a more detailed picture of the tasks you had to undertake or the skills you’ve acquired.
When over-explaining, you’ll find that whether you add or remove certain words or sentences, what’s communicated about you stays the same.
Stand Out
Whether you believe it or not, there’s a combination of traits within you that makes you see the world in the way you do.
If you can’t yet see that combination, you need to do some reflection to put your finger on it. Once you do, try to convey that on paper. Don’t take it as a way of proving that you’re better than other candidates, but as a way of showing who you are. That, in itself, is a highly effective way of standing out.
Whether you express yourself through your soft skills, your extracurriculars, or your experiences, as long as you stay authentic and refrain from unnecessary embellishments, you’ll be fine.
Don’t Repeat Yourself
A lot of people take a college resume to mean a shorter, less descriptive college essay, but that’s far from the truth.
If you’ve written something in your essay, don’t bother including it again in your resume. Remember, you don’t want to end up with more than one page.
The best way to tackle both documents is by dividing your content. If you were to expand on your academic achievements and awards in your resume, it will give you space to write about who you are and how you see the world within your essay.
On the other hand, if you were to list down your academic achievements in both documents, you would be wasting precious space and emphasizing the point that you’re single-dimensional rather than well-rounded.
After you’re done with your resume, you should be left with two things: proofreading and re-reading.
No matter how good of a writer you are, proofreading is important.
You could be missing a letter, a word, or a punctuation mark, and neither will sit well with the person handling your admission process.
Once you’ve finished proofreading, put aside your resume and carry on with your day before you come back to re-read it, at least after an hour or so has passed.
Reviewing it with a fresh eye can reveal some weaknesses and strengths that weren't visible before. That’s all there is to a resume. Good Luck!