When you’re ready to apply to a college, you’ll need to write a resume. This document describes your academic qualifications, job-related skills, and other experience.
Your college resume will be a big part of the application process. Your resume should prove to the college admissions committee that you’re capable of academic success.
Unlike resumes for job applications, your college resume should focus primarily on your academic life, not your employment history. If you’ve had a job before, you can indicate that in the document. But most of the content should cover school-related activities.
Here are five useful tips to help California students create a college resume.
Choose a professional format
College admissions committees read dozens of resumes from high school students every day. Many people believe the best way to get the reader’s attention is by choosing a colorful paper.
The best resumes, however, should have a combination of strong information and excellent presentation. If your resume isn’t well-formatted, the committee will have to scan all over to get the crucial facts about you.
Make their job easier by using a format that’s easily scannable. When choosing the right format, you’ll be able to highlight key areas of your academic background and entice people to keep reading.
Your resume needs to sell itself right away. The committee evaluating your application has no idea who you are, so your resume needs to make the introduction on your behalf. A good flow will improve the chances of acceptance to your dream college. Some of the most common formats include reverse chronological, functional, and hybrid.
Length matters
How long is the ideal resume? Generally, your college resume should cover a maximum of two pages. Many readers prefer shorter resumes.
If you’re having trouble lowering the number of pages, try experimenting with different font sizes and styles. If you intend to create a one-page resume and the content overflows to a second page, lower the font size. If you’re using a 12-point font, for example, reduce it to 11-point font.
You can also try to make the headings of your resume smaller. The choice of font styles affects how much space your document will cover.
The spacing of your information can also help you to minimize the number of pages. For instance, consider using single-spacing for your headings.
There are several word styles you can use when creating your resume. Some styles take up more space than others. For example, bold words need more space than italicized ones.
Another alternative you could consider if needed is reducing the margins.
Highlight your achievements
Ensure that your college resume shows your job-related achievements, your academic qualifications, and your overall skills. This information will help capture the college admissions committee’s attention. Your achievements should emphasize details that are important for the application process.
The committee often needs to make quick decisions about applicants. Including your achievements at the top of your resume will make it easier for them to determine whether you meet the first-round requirements. Don’t use fluff when writing your achievements. Sticking to the facts is far more effective.
Stick to active voice
Using passive voice rather than active voice can make your resume boring for readers. The passive voice results in many unnecessary words and will muddy the clarity of your work.
With passive voice, objects become the subjects in a sentence. With active voice, however, the subject performs an action. One of the ways to avoid passive voice is to write your resume in full sentences. You can also use various grammar checker tools to see if there is passive voice in your college resume.
Proofread thoroughly
Your college resume is an advertisement. If it’s drafted and presented in a logical manner, the chances of acceptance into your dream institution will be higher. The college admissions committee will judge you depending on the content in the document.
No one is perfect. No matter how much time and effort you put on writing a resume, you might end up making errors, and that’s normal. Taking some time to proofread your content is an indication that you’re willing to work hard and submit excellent work, and that’s a valuable trait. Remember that the resume you submit is a reflection of your personality. Doing your best can help improve your chances of getting into the college of your dreams.
