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What is the purpose of a resume on the college applications?


lewelma
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I feel like you guys have explained this to me before, but I've been working on my documents this week and finally went back to the resume.  It just seems to say stuff already said, but with a bit more detail.  Do universities want them?  Is there a place for it on the common app?  The resume does have stuff on it that wouldn't fit anywhere else like Honourable Mention in the Asia-Pacific Math Olympiad, kind of a big international award, but he has others filling up the 5 slots.

 

If ds does send it, he could explain the volunteer work with more detail if it was longer than 1 page.  Is that a good idea? Should he make it more like a job resume where I list his 'work experience' first, which for him is his volunteer work? Right now he has honors, activities, community service, interests. Maybe shrink the activities and increase the community service?  

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We tailored ours to the purpose of college of acceptance.  My ds' work experience didn't related to his educational goals, so we didn't put it first. 

 

We also wrote a CV, because it was requested by someone. I forget who, the whole CV was time consuming. 

 

 

 

 

ETA: We are in the middle of the process too, so I can't guarantee it is the right or wrong way :)

Edited by PinkyandtheBrains.
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ds's community service is directly related to his career goals.  So maybe do honors, community service, activities.  The CV is drafted, in fact, we thought it was done a month ago, but through the process of doing all the essays and my paperwork and all the forms, we are starting to think more strategically about how to present ds, and that has led us back to reconsidering the resume.  Without understanding how it will be used, I can't help him tailor it appropriately.  

 

1) Is it used for listing stuff you don't have anywhere else?  if so, are you integrating that with all the stuff you did list in the official forms? so the CV is just a more complete version of your life.

2) or is it used to have the reader gain a deeper understanding of important activities by having more space to describe them? So the focus would be on describing what actually you have done for things like his leadership project.

3) or is it not really for the universities, but more to send to LoR or interview people to give them an overview?

 

 

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So do certain colleges request it?  So you don't upload it to the common app?  Where would each college list their request for one or not for one?  I'm getting sick of reading through scads of requirements, and I'm getting muddled with the 7 universities ds is applying to.

 

So where do I put down the extra awards he earned?  Or do I just dump them?

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I see it as an at-a-glance overview of the student's educational path. You don't want to make it very long or wordy.

 

Some colleges offer the option to send one. It's usually listed somewhere on the individual college part of the Common App. It's not terribly common. Some scholarship programs required one; specifically the President's Scholar program at Georgia Tech required a one page (no more) resume. A one page resume might be useful for interviews.

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I actually had hoped his applications did ask for a resume.  There is no where to put his achievements on anything else.  He is in an internship currently and he has now been asked to teach a class in the subject.  And he has Phil Theta Kappa, Eagle Scout, etc.....none of which seem to fit anywhere else.

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My daughter included hers. She used it to fill out the common app. By including it with her transcript, it is just a one stop shop of her high school career.    The resume page includes schools attended, test scores and then a section of Awards, Volunteer hours, sports, employment. 

 

I have heard that it is not necessary. But in my opinion, as long as it is concise, for the homeschooler, it is a better representation of their homeschool high school career.  

 

Common app had a section to include all this stuff anyway.   So the schools want to know it regardless of how you include it. Just so long as it is included. I would make one just because it makes filling out applications easier.

 

This is how I listed her volunteer hours:

78.5 Volunteer Hours with Friends for Animal Sanctuary Thrift Shop as sorter and cashier. 

 

Note that it is very concise...there is a character limit, I think.

 

This was her award that we included.  The length is roughly about the character limit because we had to trim and make it more concise.  It lacks details but properly explains, within the character limit, her accomplishment and how she achieved it.

" Dolley Madison Award Recipient (highest level award) with American Heritage Girls
        representing a cumulative 2 years and 100 plus hours of work attending meetings, earning 6
        badges, becoming CPR/First Aid certified, and planning, organizing and executing a
        history day for 20 girls as my final project."

Edited by FLHomeschool2000
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So do certain colleges request it?  So you don't upload it to the common app?  Where would each college list their request for one or not for one?  I'm getting sick of reading through scads of requirements, and I'm getting muddled with the 7 universities ds is applying to.

 

So where do I put down the extra awards he earned?  Or do I just dump them?

 

Common app has a section to input all data that would be included on an extra-curricular resume.  So it is helpful to have it. But probably not necessary to upload it.  We did just because I made it part of her transcript document.

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I was wondering the same thing a couple of weeks ago. What I've found is that we've pretty much had to write a description for each activity that would go on the resume anyway so the only thing left is formatting it to look nice. Also, there is only room for about two sentences in the student activities section, so I can see where the resume would be helpful for some activities. I agree that it would be particularly nice to have for interviews.

 

Three of the four colleges my ds is applying to have a space where they allow you to upload your resume.

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This year, we had one college request a resume for their application (if was in the part of the Common App with the school specific questions and supplements), and another one request that my daughter bring one to her interview.

 

First child didn't need a resume for anything.

 

If it's not requested, don't make more work for yourself.

 

If you need one, Google college application resume. It's a bit different from a job search resume.

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