Activity Resume Example: 6 Samples for College Applications

By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published 2026-10-07 · Updated 2026-10-07

10 min read

An activity resume is a one page list of what a high school student does outside class, such as clubs, sports, jobs, volunteering and awards, with the role, the time given and what changed because of it. The one constraint is purpose: Shady Side Academy's college counseling office puts it plainly, "The goal of an activities resume is to highlight your strengths and inform colleges about your accomplishments and special talents." So every line has to say something a transcript cannot. Below are six complete activity resume examples, from a ninth grader starting a list to a senior applying to college, checked in October 2026, plus the formats counselors recommend. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.

Every first draft of an activity resume contains the line "Key Club, grades 9 to 12" and nothing else, which tells the reader you were present at something for four years and leaves them to guess whether you ran it or ate the snacks.

The first example is where most students start: a ninth grader turning a messy list into a record.

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What goes on an activity resume

Anything you do regularly outside class belongs on the first draft. The Iowa College Access Network (ICAN) describes it as "a simple tool that helps high school students keep track of their involvement, achievements, and experiences both in and out of school", and gives the list: "It can include clubs, sports, volunteer work, leadership roles, awards, part-time jobs, and special projects."

Students leave out the things that often matter most. Caring for siblings, working at a family business, translating for parents at appointments and teaching yourself a skill online are all activities. They take time, they build responsibility, and a reader cannot see them anywhere else in your application.

For each activity, record four things while you still remember them:

• Your role. Member, captain, founder, treasurer, cashier, volunteer.
• Grades and time. Which years, how many hours a week, and how many weeks a year.
• What you did. One or two lines with an action verb, not a job description of the club.
• What changed. A number, a result or a responsibility you were given because you were trusted.

ICAN's advice is to keep it current: "By updating it regularly, students create an organized record of their growth over time, making it easier to complete college, scholarship, and job applications." Update it at the end of every semester, not the night before an application is due.

How to format an activity resume

Shady Side Academy's guide lists the styles counselors accept: "Traditional resume format", "Organized by date/class year", "Organized by category", "Theater or portfolio style" and "Application style". Pick the one that puts your strongest activity first. Most students do best organized by category, with the most significant category at the top.

Keep it to one page. The Utah System of Higher Education resume lesson gives the rule in five words, "Resume should only be one page", and adds that students should "Use action verbs to describe their experiences." The resume action verbs list works for activity lines too: led, organized, tutored, built, raised, trained.

Shady Side's other hint is the one most students miss: "Use active words for activities in which you are still involved." Present tense for what you still do, past tense for what you finished.

Five more activity resume samples

Each sample below is complete and written for a different goal. The names and details are invented.

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How to write each activity line

The difference between a weak line and a strong one is almost always a number and a verb. Compare these:

• Weak: "Member of Environmental Club."
• Strong: "Run the weekly recycling collection for 40 classrooms with three other students."
• Weak: "Volunteer at the food pantry."
• Strong: "Sort donations and run intake on Saturday mornings; train new volunteers."

Shady Side's guide suggests starting from a full list, grouping it, then putting it "in order of importance or significance", and its advice for unusual activities is useful: "If it is an activity that is unique or if its purpose or mission is unclear, write a description of that organization." One short line is enough. A reader in another state does not know what your town's youth council does.

Be careful with numbers. Use hours and results you can stand behind, because interviewers and coaches ask about them, and a counselor's letter may describe the same activity.

Activity resume vs a job resume

An activity resume is for colleges, scholarships, summer programs, coaches and the teachers who write your recommendations. It leads with the activity that matters most to that reader and can include things a job resume would not, such as awards, academic interests and family responsibilities. A job resume leads with work and the skills an employer needs. When you apply for a part time job, start from the high school student resume guide, and when you graduate, the first job resume guide shows how to turn the same activities into experience.

Give the activity resume to your counselor and recommenders early. It answers the questions they would otherwise have to ask you, and it lets them write about specific things. If a scholarship also asks for a letter, the scholarship cover letter examples show how to pick one activity and tell its story. For an internship or summer program that wants a letter instead, the internship cover letter guide shows how to build it around the same activities.

Frequently asked questions

What is an activity resume for high school students?

It is a one page summary of what you do outside class: clubs, sports, jobs, volunteering, family responsibilities, awards and projects, with your role, the time you gave and what you achieved. Students use it for college and scholarship applications and give it to counselors and teachers who write recommendation letters.

What should an activity resume sample include?

Your name, contact details, school and graduation year at the top, then sections for activities, leadership, service, work, awards and skills. For each activity give your role, the grades you took part, hours per week and one or two lines on what you did, starting with an action verb and including a result.

How long should an activity resume be?

One page for almost every student. The Utah System of Higher Education's resume lesson says a resume "should only be one page." If you have more, cut activities you did once or briefly, merge small awards into one line and keep the descriptions to one or two lines each.

Should I list activities from ninth grade?

Yes, if you kept doing them or they led to something later, such as a club you went on to lead. Drop one off activities from ninth grade once you have stronger ones. Colleges are most interested in commitment over time, so an activity you stayed with for four years should stay on the page.

Do colleges require an activity resume?

Not usually as a separate document, because most applications have their own activities section. The resume still helps: you copy from it into the application, give it to recommenders, bring it to interviews and send it where a college or scholarship allows an upload. Check each college's instructions before uploading anything extra.

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