Learn How To Write A College Resume With Our Practical Tips

The time is now: you can't put off writing your college resume anymore. Nothing impressive seems to come to mind once you sit down and actually open the document, though. Feeling overwhelmed is not surprising when the next 4 years of your life are at stake, but that's exactly why it's not the time to panic. You don't need to be a valedictorian or start your own nonprofit to write a solid resume for college. What matters here is how you present the experiences you do have. 

Here’s what you’ll need to include when writing your college application resume:

• Choose a clean college resume format
• Start with your basic contact info
• List your education and intended college major
• Highlight relevant experience
• Mention awards, scholarships, or special recognition
• Include relevant skills that relate to your goals
• Proofread and keep it to one page

The purpose of this article is to help you build a solid resume with some practical tips and college application resume examples. And if you still have to deal with your assignments while worrying about college admissions, you can rely on EssayPro's online essay writing service to take over your papers anytime!

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How to Write a College Resume and What Information to Include

Your college resume is not merely meant to include everything you've ever done. Your story should be told in just a few sections so it's easy to scan. The college resume format you choose should mostly talk about the experiences that matter most right now, but in a way that makes these experiences and academic achievements easy to spot. And don't forget, your writing must also feel focused and clear. You can use tools like ChatGPT to write a resume, but nothing comes close to real human thought and authentic writing.

 Ideally, college application resumes include these five sections:

1. Contact Information: Who you are and how to reach you
2. Education: Your school background and intended college major
3. Experience: Jobs, internships, volunteer work, leadership roles
4. Awards and Honours: Achievements that show dedication or skill
5. Skills: Abilities that support your academic or career goals

Let’s zoom in on each section.

1. Contact Information

Start with the basics so the college has a general idea about who you are. Keep this section simple, clean, and easy to find. It's essential that the details here are accurate and professional.

What to include:

1. Full name (use the same version across all application materials)
2. Email address (make sure it sounds professional)
3. Phone number
4. City and state
5. LinkedIn URL (not a must, but still nice if you’ve built a profile)

Example:

Jordan Lee
jordanlee@email.com
(555) 123-4567
Chicago, IL
linkedin.com/in/jordanlee

2. Education

This part lists where you've studied and what you've been working toward so far. You've also probably decided on your college major by now, so now's the time to include it.

This section should cover:

1. Full name of your high school
2. Location (city and state)
3. Graduation year
4. GPA (if it's strong)
5. College major or academic focus
6. Courses related to your major or field of interest

Example:

North Ridge High School – Chicago, IL
Expected Graduation: May 2025
GPA: 3.9
Intended Major: Environmental Science
Relevant Coursework: AP Biology, Honors Chemistry, Environmental Science

3. Experience

This part focuses on your activities outside the classroom. You have a chance to impress the admissions officer with the roles that helped you build responsibility and leadership skills. Talk about your accomplishments and the impact they had; listing your job titles won't do much. Use numbers where you can, and make sure to keep your phrasing active.

Tips for writing the experience section:

1. Start with the most recent role
2. List your position, organization, and location
3. Include dates of involvement
4. Use bullet points, not paragraphs
5. Start each line with an action verb
6. Mention specific outcomes or achievements
7. Stay consistent with formatting
8. Keep entries short and to the point
9. Focus on growth, leadership, or results
10. Tailor your descriptions to your goals

Ideas for this section:

• Babysitting or childcare
• Tutoring classmates or younger students
• Summer internships
• Part-time jobs
• Volunteering at a local shelter or community event
• Leadership roles in school clubs
• Organizing fundraisers or events
• Being a team captain
• Creating content for a school newsletter or club
• Assisting teachers with classroom tasks

4. Awards and Honours

If your hard work has been recognized and rewarded, this is the time to show it off. This section of your college application resume talks about any existing awards or honors. These can be academic, athletic, artistic, or simply community-based.

Tips for organizing this section:

1. Start with the most recent award
2. List the name and year
3. Add a short description
4. Stick to honors that are meaningful or competitive
5. Group similar recognitions together for clarity

5. Skills

Use this section to demonstrate the skills you've picked up along the way. Anything you've learned in class, at work, or on your own that you think would be relevant to your application. This part should feel practical and directly connected to your future goals.

Tips for a strong skills section:

1. Be specific
2. Break skills into categories
3. Avoid listing personality traits
4. Keep it short and scannable
5. Only list skills you’re confident using

Examples of skills to list:

• Canva design
• Google Sheets
• Public speaking
• Data entry
• Spanish (intermediate)
• Adobe Premiere Pro
• Research writing
• Social media content creation
• Coding with Python
• Time management

Wrapping Up Your College Student Resume

You've put the pieces together and polished every section to perfection. Now, it's time to save and send your college application resume. Don't rush this part, though, since small details make a difference here.

• Save it as a PDF: PDFs keep your formatting clean, no matter who opens the file or what device they’re using. It also looks way more professional than a Word doc.
• Use a clean file name: Skip anything messy or random. Keep it simple: FirstName_LastName_College_Resume.pdf.
• No need to include objective: Your objective is getting accepted into the college of your dreams. There's no question about that. Anything more specific will come up during the interviews.
• Skip the references: If someone needs a reference list, they’ll ask separately. Save that space for what really matters.

College Resume Examples

It’s way easier to build your own resume after seeing a few real ones. You can take a look at real college resume examples so you know how to write one that reflects you:

Practical Tips for Your College Resume

Don't hit close just yet, we've still got a few actually useful tips to really help your college application resume stand out:

1. Try to keep it to one page: Colleges aren’t looking for a novel. Unless you've got a really long list of relevant skills and achievements, one page is probably all you need.
2. Use a clear font: No cursive, no Comic Sans. Stick with something clean like Arial or Calibri, and keep it easy to read.
3. Check for consistency: If your dates are all right-aligned in one section, they should be the same in the next. Small details like this go a long way.
4. Read it out loud: You’ll catch awkward phrasing, typos, and strange formatting this way. Better to find them now than after you hit ‘submit.’
5. Tweak it for each use: It’s totally okay (and smart) to adjust your resume depending on what you’re applying for. A scholarship and a summer internship might need different highlights.

How to Submit a Resume for College Application?

So, how exactly do you get your college application resume in the right hands once you finish writing it? Here's how:

1. Check the application instructions: You might be able to upload a resume directly into the Common App or through a portal or email. Depends on the college.
2. Upload the PDF in the right spot: Look for sections like "Additional Information" or "Upload" on the Common App. Make sure you're not pasting your resume into some random text field.
3. Double-check the upload: Preview the file after uploading so you're sure everything's nice and clean. If it looks off, re-export and try again.
4. Only email if asked: If a college specifically asks you to email your resume, write a short, polite message and attach the file as a PDF.

Why Is My Resume for College So Important?

Your college application resume isn't just another assignment you have to get through and walk away; it's what determines whether the college admissions officers decide you fit in your dream school. Let's take a look at why exactly it carries so much weight:

Before You Submit

You’ve got your resume built, your details double-checked, and your file saved just right. Take a last look before you hit that submit button, just to be on the safe side and make sure everything flows like it should. Remember, your college application resume should reflect who you are and give context to the rest of your application.

And if you're still figuring out how to piece your story together, but the deadlines are breathing down your neck regardless, EssayPro can step in when you need it the most. Our academic writers for college papers know exactly how to shape your ideas into clear, well-structured writing. Your senior year is stressful, and you don't have to handle everything alone.

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