Leadership in a school club
Position: President
Organization: Model United Nations
Grew club 18→52 members; run weekly training; organized 3-school conference for 120 delegates; team won Best Delegation twice.
126 / 150 characters
Common App activities list
The activities section is ten short slots and a 150-character box each — the tightest writing on the whole application. Here is how the section works, what strong entries look like, and how to order yours. Field limits reflect the current Common App; confirm details in your own account before submitting.
How the section actually works
- You get up to 10 activity slots, and you do not have to fill all of them.
- Each slot has an activity type, a position/leadership field (50 characters), an organization name (100 characters), and a description (150 characters).
- You also enter hours per week, weeks per year, which grades you participated, and whether you plan to continue in college.
- Order matters: the first slots carry the most weight, so lead with your deepest, most distinctive commitments — not the most prestigious-sounding title.
- Abbreviations, ampersands, and sentence fragments are all acceptable — the 150-character limit is tight and readers expect compression.
Common App activities examples
Eight sample entries, each written inside the real character limits. They are models for structure and tone — write yours from your own experience.
Part-time job
Position: Server & Shift Trainer
Organization: Marino's Family Restaurant
18 hrs/wk during school year; trained 6 new servers; handle closing cash count; contribute earnings to family expenses.
119 / 150 characters
Research
Position: Student Researcher
Organization: State University Chem Dept.
Ran 40+ titration trials on water samples; co-authored poster on lead levels presented at regional science symposium.
117 / 150 characters
Athletics
Position: Varsity Captain
Organization: Cross Country
Captain 2 yrs; lead 6am practices for 30 runners; cut 5K time 21:40→18:12; organized team's annual charity run.
111 / 150 characters
Family responsibility
Position: Caregiver
Organization: Family
Care for two younger siblings 20 hrs/wk: school pickup, meals, homework help, while parents work evening shifts.
112 / 150 characters
Self-started project
Position: Founder
Organization: Northside Tutoring Collective
Built free peer tutoring network; recruited 14 tutors; matched 60+ students; average math grade rose one letter.
112 / 150 characters
Arts
Position: First Chair Violin
Organization: Regional Youth Orchestra
Audition seat 3 yrs; 8 hrs/wk rehearsal; soloist in spring concert; teach beginner lessons at community center.
111 / 150 characters
Volunteering
Position: Volunteer Coordinator
Organization: City Food Bank
Schedule 25 weekly volunteers; redesigned intake process cutting wait times ~30%; 300+ personal service hours.
110 / 150 characters
Writing a 150-character description
Lead with the verb, not the pronoun
Drop "I" entirely. "Organized," "built," "trained," "raised," and "led" all buy you characters and read stronger than "I was responsible for."
Use numbers as evidence
Members recruited, dollars raised, hours per week, people served, placement results. A number is the cheapest way to show scale in 150 characters.
Show impact, not duties
"Attended weekly meetings" describes membership. "Grew club 18→52 members" describes a person who changed something. Colleges read for the second.
Name the level you competed at
School, regional, state, national, or international recognition tells a reader how selective an accomplishment is. Say it explicitly.
Don't repeat the activity name
The organization field already says "Debate Team." Spend the description on what you actually did there.
Mistakes that cost you slots
- Padding all 10 slots with one-time or passive memberships — a short, honest list reads better than a stuffed one.
- Listing awards here instead of in the honors section, where they belong.
- Inflating hours per week; readers compare your numbers against a plausible school week.
- Writing full formal sentences and running out of room before the impact.
- Ranking by prestige instead of by depth — your longest, most invested commitment usually belongs first.
Get every activity rated by Clare
Paste your activities into the College Clarity Application Hub and Clare rates each one on role, impact, reach, and commitment — so you know which entries belong in your top slots before you submit. Free to start.
Open the Application Hub