Activities in UG on resume question... Forum

[makingwaves]

I've seen alot of resumes that only briefly list the activies one has participated in during their years in UG under the education heading. For example:

BA in Whatever from Wherever University
Honors: blah blah
Awards: blah blah
Activities: blah blah

I would like to expand on mine, for example, instead of saying i was a member of XYZ Sorority, I want to include the fact that I was instrumental in raising a large sum of money (excess of $50k) for our charity. Would I add a bullet point or two elaborating on my activities in XYZ? I was also thinking about making it into a seperate section thats just for softs.

Opinions? Advice? Examples? All are much appreciated!

[dakatz]

Yeah, I put a bullet or two if I did something important for the group

[WhiskeyGuy]

I've seen alot of resumes that only briefly list the activies one has participated in during their years in UG under the education heading. For example:

BA in Whatever from Wherever University
Honors: blah blah
Awards: blah blah
Activities: blah blah

I would like to expand on mine, for example, instead of saying i was a member of XYZ Sorority, I want to include the fact that I was instrumental in raising a large sum of money (excess of $50k) for our charity. Would I add a bullet point or two elaborating on my activities in XYZ? I was also thinking about making it into a seperate section thats just for softs.

Opinions? Advice? Examples? All are much appreciated!

Absolutely. If you have specific accomplishments, put them in as bullets. FWIW, I put three or four lines for some of my UG activities.

[makingwaves]

I've seen alot of resumes that only briefly list the activies one has participated in during their years in UG under the education heading. For example:

BA in Whatever from Wherever University
Honors: blah blah
Awards: blah blah
Activities: blah blah

I would like to expand on mine, for example, instead of saying i was a member of XYZ Sorority, I want to include the fact that I was instrumental in raising a large sum of money (excess of $50k) for our charity. Would I add a bullet point or two elaborating on my activities in XYZ? I was also thinking about making it into a seperate section thats just for softs.

Opinions? Advice? Examples? All are much appreciated!

Absolutely. If you have specific accomplishments, put them in as bullets. FWIW, I put three or four lines for some of my UG activities.

Ah, thats what I wanted to hear, thank you! Couple more questions: I did my freshman year at community college, I was planning on just putting my degree granting institution on my resume, as on the apps I will have to list the CC... not so smart idea?


Also, how far back did you all go with your work histories? I feel like its pretty unnecessary to list my job as a camp counselor the summer before my freshman year, that sort of thing...

[WhiskeyGuy]

I've seen alot of resumes that only briefly list the activies one has participated in during their years in UG under the education heading. For example:

BA in Whatever from Wherever University
Honors: blah blah
Awards: blah blah
Activities: blah blah

I would like to expand on mine, for example, instead of saying i was a member of XYZ Sorority, I want to include the fact that I was instrumental in raising a large sum of money (excess of $50k) for our charity. Would I add a bullet point or two elaborating on my activities in XYZ? I was also thinking about making it into a seperate section thats just for softs.

Opinions? Advice? Examples? All are much appreciated!

Absolutely. If you have specific accomplishments, put them in as bullets. FWIW, I put three or four lines for some of my UG activities.

Ah, thats what I wanted to hear, thank you! Couple more questions: I did my freshman year at community college, I was planning on just putting my degree granting institution on my resume, as on the apps I will have to list the CC... not so smart idea?


Also, how far back did you all go with your work histories? I feel like its pretty unnecessary to list my job as a camp counselor the summer before my freshman year, that sort of thing...

I only went back a couple of years for work experience. Although, I stuck to a one-page resume.

[Marisa5252]

I've seen alot of resumes that only briefly list the activies one has participated in during their years in UG under the education heading. For example:

BA in Whatever from Wherever University
Honors: blah blah
Awards: blah blah
Activities: blah blah

I would like to expand on mine, for example, instead of saying i was a member of XYZ Sorority, I want to include the fact that I was instrumental in raising a large sum of money (excess of $50k) for our charity. Would I add a bullet point or two elaborating on my activities in XYZ? I was also thinking about making it into a seperate section thats just for softs.

Opinions? Advice? Examples? All are much appreciated!

Absolutely. If you have specific accomplishments, put them in as bullets. FWIW, I put three or four lines for some of my UG activities.

Ah, thats what I wanted to hear, thank you! Couple more questions: I did my freshman year at community college, I was planning on just putting my degree granting institution on my resume, as on the apps I will have to list the CC... not so smart idea?


Also, how far back did you all go with your work histories? I feel like its pretty unnecessary to list my job as a camp counselor the summer before my freshman year, that sort of thing...

I only went back a couple of years for work experience. Although, I stuck to a one-page resume.

I can guarantee adcomms don't care about anything you did before you started college (unless you cured cancer or something). Also, as someone who reviews resumes: Resumes are 1 PAGE. Especially if you haven't been out of college for more than a few years everything that's interesting about your work experience/activities will probably fit on one page anyway. If you're over 1 page then you should look at each thing on your resume and decide if it's important or not.

[forty-two]

For my sorority, I put the sorority and years as a member first. Then I added my positions, the years I held those positions, and a few bullet points for each. I also did philanthropy, and I think it's good to be as specific as possible about the amount of money raised and number of people in attendance for each event. Also, while a one page resume is obviously the way to go for jobs, I think they can be longer for your apps because most schools specifically say they have a two or three page limit. I could be wrong though.

Good luck!

[makingwaves]

For my sorority, I put the sorority and years as a member first. Then I added my positions, the years I held those positions, and a few bullet points for each. I also did philanthropy, and I think it's good to be as specific as possible about the amount of money raised and number of people in attendance for each event. Also, while a one page resume is obviously the way to go for jobs, I think they can be longer for your apps because most schools specifically say they have a two or three page limit. I could be wrong though.

Good luck!

These are all great ideas, thank you!