How To Build a Resume for College Applications

Applying to college, much like landing a great job, is a competitive process. For both, you’ll need a well-crafted resume to illustrate what makes you a fit for a particular school or organization. Knowing how to make a resume for college applications, even with limited job experience, is important since you must impress admissions officers when colleges are more selective than ever. Learn more about college application resumes, including a step-by-step college resume writing guide and general college resume tips.

Understanding the Purpose of a College Application Resume

Given that high school students lack an extensive job history, what is the point of a college application resume, and what does an effective college resume look like?

Role in the admissions process

A resume is important for college admissions. According to data from Common App, a platform used by millions of students to apply to hundreds of institutions, over 7.5 million college applications were made for the academic year 2023-2024. On average, people applied to more than five schools.

Colleges receive massive numbers of applications, and they need multiple ways to evaluate students. A college application resume adds context beyond the transcript and standardized test scores.

Say two students have the same average and SAT score. One volunteered outside of school and served in leadership positions in academic clubs or on school sports teams; the other had limited extracurricular activities but held a part-time job to help their family and still made the honor roll.

This information can help admissions officers learn more about each student.

Showcasing your unique qualities

Creating a high school resume for college can help you highlight achievements, skills, and experiences in one document. You can share that you won an academic award, were co-editor of the school yearbook, or took an outside class to become CPR-certified. If you did community service or led your volleyball team to the division championship, include those accolades as well.

Your college application resume can help define you as a well-rounded student beyond numbers and scores.

Preparing To Build Your Resume

Start building your resume early on in high school by keeping a running list of your activities and accomplishments.

Gathering necessary information

The main sections of your college application resume will include your personal details, educational background, extracurricular activities, any volunteer work or regular work if you’ve had a job, and the skills you’ve developed. Before you begin your resume, write down:

• Unique aspects of your academic background. Did you take advanced French, or are you a whiz at calculus or computer programming?
• Clubs, sports, activities. Include the dates and if/when you achieved leadership positions.
• Volunteer projects. Include the community service groups you’ve supported in or out of school.
• Skills. Whether you’re adept at video editing, are bilingual, or you have a knack for writing, list those skill sets.

Choosing the right format

Resumes can have different formats. The most common type is the reverse chronological format in which you list all of your jobs in reverse order, followed by your education. Another type is a functional resume, which focuses more on skills than experiences. High school students with a limited job history can use a combination format, a hybrid of the two. It emphasizes skills but still leaves room for a reverse chronological listing of jobs/volunteer experience.

Detailed Guide To Writing Each Section

To simplify the process of writing your college application resume, follow this college resume writing guide, section-by-section.

Contact information

Include your full name, phone number, email address, and city/state. Tip: Consider creating a professional email address for your college correspondence.

Writing a strong objective statement

Summarize your academic career and any outside activities to engage the admissions officer.

Highlighting education

When writing a high school resume for college applications, spend more time on your educational background.

Include relevant coursework, especially any challenging elective or advanced courses you took in your field of interest. Also, include honors or academic awards you’ve received.

Detailing extracurricular activities

Think quality over quantity for extracurricular activities. Include clubs, sports, and other activities that you’ve been part of throughout your high school career, especially if you took on a leadership role or made a significant contribution.

Showcasing volunteer experience

Emphasize your duties and responsibilities and the impact your contributions made. Use strong action verbs to describe your experience.

Highlighting skills

List any academic, personal, and technical skills that set you apart from other applicants. Perhaps you taught yourself how to play the violin, or you know how to code. If you’re on your school’s debate team, your communication skills are likely top-notch.

Ideally, align some of your key skills with what a particular college values or with the field of study you’re pursuing. Aspiring nursing students might focus on first aid skills they learned as a summer lifeguard, for example.

Adding extra sections

If you’ve done any summer programs or internships or earned professional certification, include those as resume sections. You could even include hobbies and interests if they align with your programs and schools of interest.

Tips for Making Your College Application Resume Stand Out

The college application resume is a tool to help tell your story. Here are some college admissions resume tips to keep in mind.

Customizing your resume

Tailor your resume for each application. The bulk of the resume can stay the same, but the types of skills you emphasize or accomplishments you highlight could change depending on the school.

For example, if you continue an activity you excelled in at high school at one of your prospective colleges, that resume might include more details about that activity. If you’re applying to one school’s specialized program, you could focus on related coursework you completed.

Using keywords

Include some of the language from a school’s website and guidebook.

See how they portray their typical students and mirror that language. If a school emphasizes “innovation” and “research,” aim your resume in that direction; for another college that might focus on “civic engagement,” you might spotlight your community service.

Highlighting achievements over duties

A good resume should convey the value that you bring, not the tasks you completed. How did your accomplishments help a team? What was your contribution to a group’s success?

Proofreading and editing

A resume full of grammatical errors or spelling mistakes might disqualify you. Proofread your work beyond using spell check, and have a trusted adult look it over as well.

Examples of College Application Resumes

A well-written resume alone won’t guarantee you’ll get into your top colleges, but it can help. Putting your best self forward and sharing your skills and accomplishments with admissions officers will help them envision you as a great addition to their institution. Use the provided examples and tips as you create the best college resume possible.

Resources for Further Assistance

• How To Make a Resume With No Experience
• Resume Examples for Teens: Templates and Writing Guide
• What Hobbies and Interests To Put on a Resume

Andrew Stoner

Executive Resume Writer and Career Coach

Andrew Stoner is an executive career coach and resume writer with 17 years of experience as a hiring manager and operations leader at two Fortune 500 Financial Services companies, and as the career services director at two major university business schools.