How to write a college admission resume?

@addicted2Guard, writing a resume for college admissions is similar to a work resume, except that you substitute volunteer, club and teen activity for work experience. Be sure to list any officer positions that you held, and the number of years that you were involved with the activity. Lots of activities are not necessarily better than having one or two activities with sustained involvement and commitment. List part time job experience, and include the average number of hours you worked per week.

Keep it clear, orderly, well-edited and not filled with unimportant details. For someone your age, you should stick to one page. There is no secret. Pretend you are the reader.

And work on your essays in a similar fashion. Your goal is to 1) convince the Admissions officers that you are capable of doing the academic work and 2) you will also make a contribution to the student life. When I was in the business, the catch-phrase was “The thicker the folder, the thicker the kid.”

Put any advanced class you have taken, extracurricular activities, offices held in those activities, volunteer work, languages you speak (unless it’s just English), awards you have won, work experience. Your resume and essay is a way to let colleges know things about you that your application doesn’t let you tell them, so show off.

Talk about your GOALS; List accomplishments no matter how small or irrelevant they seem to you; Talk about a passion and write that you need academic support to reach your goal and get the career you want.

Not too much twaddle, however. The Admissions officers read those folders until 3:00 AM often and don’t much care about ninth grade field hockey D squad. And you want your application to bear some resemblance to your teacher and counselor recommendations.

No one expects a seventeen or eighteen-year old to have clear career or professional goals, either.

I just wrote an employer recommendation for a kid who has been home-schooled. His test scores were almost perfect and he writes beautifully, so he submitted a five-minute DVD of himself reciting two Shakespearean monologues. One was the Mark Anthony declamation from Julius Caesar (Cry havoc, and unleash the dogs of war) and the other was Sebastian’s lover’s speech from Twelfth Night. The theatre department at the College where he is applying ED will look at it because it is short.

@gailcalled: I am not saying she should have made up her mind, but if she does show commintment and determination towards a career path, or even just an objective (ex. create environmentally safe energy) that will increase her chances to get into a good school.

Basic content:
Academic objective/interest
Academic performance (school, special curriculum within school, GPA, ranking, AP classes, academic honors SAT/ACT scores)
School extracurricular involvement with leadership, duration
Community involvement with leadership, duration
Work experience with time expended per week

Gail raises a good point—if you are applying to a creative area of study, like theater, music, art, etc. you should have a short example of your capabilities, like the aforementioned DVD, portfolio, etc. A co-worker’s son is interested in a interactive media earned extra money in high school creating Web pages for individuals and small businesses. In addition to a paper resume with screen shots of 3 of the best Web site’s home pages, he also created an i-resume with imbedded video in it, where he talks about what he learned about brand and business from creating the Web pages.

@Addicted, Which is not to say that you need to do that, but if you have anything that sets you apart as an individual for the major or school you’ve selected, you need to find a very brief way to showcase your individuality, and bring that out in your resume.

Thank you for all of the responses.