Resource - FY Activities ENG 2025-06-25 - Approaching the Activities section

Oct 1, 2026

The guide explains how to complete the Activities section of My Common Application, which helps colleges understand a student’s interests and experiences beyond the classroom. It recommends reflecting on meaningful activities such as jobs, internships, volunteering, family responsibilities, hobbies, and sports, and focusing on the strongest story rather than reporting an exact number. It also details how the activity type selection works, how to write concise descriptions, the allowed character limits, and how to handle limited space and missing time specifics.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

How the Activities section helps

Selecting and describing activities

Characters allowed and examples

Hours and weeks details

Approaching the Activities section The Activities section is part of My Common Application. In it you have the chance to tell colleges more about who you are outside the classroom. You can use this section to highlight the activities and experiences that have been the most meaningful to you throughout high school. Take a moment to reflect on what types of activities you may want to include. Did you have family responsibilities, a job, internship, or volunteer work? What about hobbies or sports? Use this space to jot down an activity or two you might want to share. You can add up to ten activities to your application, but that doesn’t mean that you need to enter ten. This section is how colleges can get to know more about you. It can show what makes you unique: your pursuits, interests, and passions. Focus on what activities can best tell that story and not on the number you’re reporting. The Activities section isone of our team’s favorite sections of the application. Activities add persona to an application; they demonstrate an applicant’s interests outside of the classroom and allow us a glimpse into that applicant’s passions, further demonstrating how that individual may enhance our student community. —Adelphi University (Garden City, NY) Did you know? If you need more space to elaborate on an activity or experience, you can use the Additional Information question in the Writing section to share more details. [commonapp.org](commonapp.org) © 2025 Common App, Inc. How it works First, you’ll select your activity type. If your activity type isn’t listed, you can choose “other club/activity” from the dropdown menu. You can give more details in the position/leadership and activity description fields. Next, you’ll briefly describe the activity and your position. You have limited space in these fields, so you may need to abbreviate words and simplify your grammar. Characters allowed • Position/Leadership description 50 characters • Organization name 100 characters • Activity details, honors won, and accomplishments 150 characters Example activity descriptions Original For two years I volunteered at my local animal shelter. I helped out where needed, but mainly walked dogs and monitored the front desk. Last year I was asked to take on more responsibility and have been volunteering asthe receptionist during the weekends. (256 characters) Edited Volunteer at local animal shelter walking dogs and running front desk. Given more responsibility last year and now volunteer as receptionist. (141 characters) The edited version fits the character limit and still gives the important details. The time spent on the activity has been taken out, because that information is reported elsewhere in the section. For each activity you’ll provide the hours spent per week on the activity, and then the weeks spent per year. If you can’t remember the exact details, like the time spent on an activity, it’s alright to give your best guess. — For more information, visit our Solution Center [at ](at appsupport.commonapp.org)[appsupport.commonapp.org](at appsupport.commonapp.org) [commonapp.org](commonapp.org) © 2025 Common App, Inc.

FAQs

What is the purpose of the Activities section in My Common Application?

It lets applicants tell colleges more about who they are outside the classroom by highlighting meaningful activities, experiences, pursuits, interests, and passions.

How should applicants choose what to include in the Activities section?

Applicants should focus on activities that best tell their story and not on the number of activities they report, choosing items that reflect uniqueness.

What character limits apply to activity descriptions and organization names?

The guide lists 50 characters for position/leadership descriptions, 100 characters for organization names, and 150 characters for activity details, honors won, and accomplishments.

Oct 1, 2026

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