High School Resume Templates and Examples for College Applications for 2024

High School Resume Templates and Examples for College Applications (Downloadable)

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Colleges receive thousands of applications each fall, and that number has risen steadily over the last decade. Admissions committees are busy sorting through all of the paperwork that goes along with the admission process, so make their job easier with a great high school resume. We’ll provide practical tips to craft a compelling resume that gets you one step closer to a college acceptance letter.

Key takeaways:

• Emphasize key strengths and interests: Begin your resume with a concise summary highlighting your top academic accomplishments, work experience, or extracurricular involvement.
• Quantify achievements: When discussing past accomplishments, use numbers, percentages, and dollar amounts to give admission boards a tangible example of your contributions.
• Include keywords for clarity: Some colleges may use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to filter through candidates, and using relevant keywords in your resume can help it perform better.

How To Write a High School Resume for College Applications Example

Applying for college is a big task, especially if you’re interested in multiple schools. At a minimum, include the following sections in your college application resume:

• Contact information
• Profile
• Key skills
• Professional experience
• Education and certifications

1. Share your contact information

Even if your resume is attached to your application, include your name and contact information at the top of the document. Your phone number, email, and address should be clearly stated so admission officers know whose resume they’re reading.

2. Write a dynamic profile summarizing your qualifications

Think of your profile like a movie trailer. It shares just enough information to pique the reader’s interest without giving everything away. In two to three sentences, list your top academic and extracurricular achievements that show why you would be an excellent addition to their school.

Highlight facts demonstrating your leadership skills or passion for your field of study. Use action verbs to make your summary dynamic and descriptive. This will help admission boards quickly understand your strengths and how you might contribute to their campus community.

3. Add a results-driven professional experience section

Whether you’ve had a job or not, you have valuable experiences to call on. Showcase your responsibilities, but also include achievements. Were you recognized by management? Did you improve a process at work? Mention times when you excelled on the job, learned something new, or had a positive impact.

If you haven’t worked yet, list academic, volunteer, athletic, internship, or study abroad experiences instead. Describe any new skills gained or results you achieved, using numbers when you can. Show you’re on a path to success, ready to take on the challenges of college life.

Resume writer’s tip: Quantify your experience

When you can, use numbers to describe your academic achievements and personal accomplishments. Instead of simply saying you were “top of the class,” give evidence of this through your test scores, GPA, or an award title. Or, if you were the captain of a sports team, mention how many people were on the team. For example:

Resume writer’s tip: Tailor your resume for each application

Even if you are applying to only one of the nearly 6,000 U.S. postsecondary schools, tailor your college application resume accordingly. This shows your genuine interest in that specific school. Demonstrate you’ve done your homework and discovered what’s most important to that institution.

Highlight achievements, experiences, skills, and interests that align with the school you’re applying for. Admissions officers are more likely to notice and appreciate your resume if they can see you connected with their missions, values, and specialties.

What if you don’t have experience?

Your first few resumes are often the hardest to create, especially if you don’t have any work experience. Instead, focus on things like skills, volunteer work, babysitting, lawn mowing, or helping out a family business. These experiences still count and show you’ve taken on responsibility or gone out of your way to get involved with a community project.

Depending on your extracurricular activities and interests, you can add unique information that would make you stand out from other students. If it could be relevant to your college career, include info on things like personal projects, hobbies, passions, social media pages, contest wins, and more.

4. Add high school education and certifications

You’re sending in your transcripts with your application, so the school already has access to the coursework you’ve completed. Go a step beyond with your resume by describing relevant academic achievements. Provide extra information on details such as high grades and GPAs, awards, standardized test scores, leadership roles, and your expected graduation date.

5. Outline your most useful skills and proficiencies

Create a skills list that shows the college what you’re capable of. Include both technical and interpersonal abilities to display your learning style and how you collaborate with others. If you’re fluent in multiple languages, mention that as well. Do you have experience leading a team? List your leadership skills. Check out the examples below:

Resume writer’s tip: Use specific action verbs

Action verbs can help you communicate clearly and concisely. Instead of writing in complete sentences, start bullet points with an action verb. This language engages readers and allows them to better envision what you’ve accomplished. Here are action verbs you can use to liven up your college application resume:

How To Pick the Best High School Resume Template

The best template for a college application is well-organized, simple, and easy to read. It should clearly feature your most relevant academic accomplishments, work experience, and other extracurricular activities. Look for a template with a clean design, free of graphics and overly vibrant colors. These decorative accents may look nice, but they can distract the reader.

High School Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples

Frequently Asked Questions: High School Resume Examples and Advice

How do you align your resume for a college application?

If you’re ready to join the 62% of high school graduates enrolling in colleges or universities, create a well-written resume that aligns with school requirements and expectations. This strategy is helpful no matter what you may be applying for — school, work, internships, or otherwise. You’ll stand out more than other applicants who may be using generic templates.

Research the college’s priorities, identifying keywords and phrases about skills or experiences they value. Then, select moments from your academic and professional history that match these priorities. For example, if the school emphasizes community involvement, be sure that your volunteer experiences are somewhere in your resume.

What is the best high school resume format?

Choosing the right format for your resume can make all the difference. While the chronological style may be the most popular, a combination format is often a better alternative for high school students. Instead of focusing on your professional history, emphasize your relevant skills and education first. Then list any volunteer, work, extracurricular, or leadership experience.

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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.