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How to Write a Resume for College – A CollegeAdvisor Guide

How to write a resume for college – introduction.

Standing out as a stellar applicant in the college admissions process is tough. One way to separate yourself from the crowd is by crafting a strong resume for college. Your college resume can highlight information about your background, activities, and achievements. Some of these might not be indicated elsewhere in your college application or recommendation letters . 

In this article, we will teach you how to write a college resume. We’ll highlight 5 simple steps to building your college application resume. We will also discuss what a college resume is and why you may need a resume for college. Additionally, we will provide examples on how to write a resume for college by reviewing college resume examples. Finally, we’ll walk you through some college resume templates in our example college resumes.

So, let’s look at how to write a college resume and explain what makes a good college resume, why you should include a resume for college in your applications, and more!

What is a college resume? 

A high school resume is typically a one-page document that complements your college application . Your high school resume (or college resume) can help you showcase your achievements and extracurriculars for college. It does this by sharing information that is not elsewhere within your college applications. The goal of a college resume is to show the college admissions officers who you are and how you spend your time outside of the classroom . 

Before we jump into how to write a college resume, let’s examine some things that make up a good college resume.

A good college resume should include: 

• Clear structure
• Concise language (bullet points over essay-style)
• Relevant details
• Strong formatting

As we discuss how to write a resume for college, you might wonder what purpose a college resume serves. In short, a college resume is a summary of experiences that you can use to add depth to your college applications. You can also think of a college resume as your high school resume, or a resume for college. Your college resume will include a brief description of each of your experiences and extracurriculars for college. 

While we examine how to write a resume for college, you should first note that your college resume should include key details like your educational details, GPA , extracurricular activities/jobs, and honors/awards. As we’ll discuss, your college resume will have other key features. We’ll go through each of these as we learn how to write a resume for college. 

Many colleges list a college resume within their college application requirements. But, even if a college resume is not listed in the college application requirements, we recommend creating one anyway. 

We will look at a sample college resume later in this article, along with a 5-step guide to creating a resume for college that you can use as you begin writing your college resume. 

Do I need a resume for my college applications? 

No, you do not necessarily need to include a college resume with your college applications. However, a high school resume or resume for college can be a helpful tool in the college admissions process. 

So, how could including a resume for college application be beneficial? First, including a college resume in your college applications can help highlight your skills, experiences, and qualifications to the admissions office of your dream school.  

Having a college resume can help you showcase your extracurricular activities in your college applications. You can highlight leadership positions, accomplishments, interests, and activities on your college resume that might not appear elsewhere in your college applications. 

Creating a resume for college application can also demonstrate your accomplishments and experiences to college admissions officers. Even if a high school resume is optional in the list of college application requirements, including one in your college applications can help you stand out. Standing out is incredibly important in the admissions process, especially if your ideal college is high on the list of college rankings . 

It is a good idea to start putting together your college resume as you near the end of high school.

You may forget the names of clubs, supervisors, mentors, teachers, etc. as you get ready to apply to college. So, the earlier you can gather all the information for your high school resume, the better! That way, all of your experiences are fresh in your mind, and you can create the strongest resume for college possible. 

When should I prepare my college resume? 

As you begin the process of applying to college, you might be wondering when to prepare your college resume. The ideal timeline for creating your high school resume can start as early as 9 th grade. 

In general, you won’t want to include anything on your high school resume before 9 th grade. Like other college application requirements, college admissions officers are only interested in the activities you have participated in during high school. 

Keep a list starting in 9th grade

As early as 9 th grade, you can start keeping a list of your accomplishments and activities. Even though you won’t need to format this list into a college resume yet, it will be the basis for your future college application resume.

As you begin the college admissions process, you can use the list you created and turn it into a college resume. As you apply to college and prepare your college resume, research which college resume format works best for you. Reviewing a sample college resume or college resume template can help you find the perfect college resume format. 

As you look through college resume examples, think about which aspects of the college resume template you like the best. Then, adapt things from those college resume examples to fit your college resume. Once you have decided on a college resume format, list your accomplishments, jobs, and activities within that college resume format. 

Summer before senior year

The best time to create your high school resume is during the summer before your senior year. This gives you plenty of time to perfect your college application resume. 

We’ll examine the necessary components of a successful college resume in the next section of this article. So, read on!

What should a high school student put on a resume? 

As you begin the college admissions process, you may be asking yourself what to include on your high school resume. You can start the college application resume writing process by brainstorming how you spend your time outside of your courses. 

Think about everything you have done or achieved since you started high school and write it down. Your high school resume should highlight your activities, interests, and skills. Pay particular attention to these factors as you consider what to include on your high school resume.

Your high school resume will be organized categorically. Some of the most common categories for a resume for college application include personal information, work experience, extracurricular activities, volunteer experience/community service, education, and skills.  In addition to the categories listed above, below is a list of some other things that high school students should list on their resume for college.

Top ten things to list on your college resume:

• School name and address
• Contact Info
• GPA or Class rank, if applicable
• Internships & volunteer roles
• Awards and honors
• Extracurricular activities
• Leadership positions
• Language competencies

As we mentioned earlier, you may not have information or experiences for every category listed above. That’s perfectly fine! Focus on what applies to you and what you can include on your high school resume as you learn how to write a college resume. 

What does not belong on my high school resume? 

Now that we have examined what to include on your high school resume, let’s discuss what does not belong on your college application resume. 

Keep it current

In general, you should avoid including any activity or achievement from before 9 th grade on your resume for college. However, it’s okay to include something that is particularly impressive and/or attached to a current activity. 

For example, if you have 12 years of experience in playing the violin, you will want to include that on your high school resume. However, if you joined your middle school band for a semester, you should likely leave that out of your college resume. Your resume for college should reflect activities that matter to you now.

Avoid listing daily duties

There is no need to include informal everyday activities on your college resume, such as cooking for your family or cleaning around the house. When you are crafting your resume for college, it’s best to stick to things that are relevant to admissions committees or future employers. 

Note that this is one area where your college resume differs from your activities list. For instance, if you spend considerable time caretaking your three siblings, you may choose to include that on your activities list within the Common App. However, the same responsibilities likely shouldn’t appear on your resume for college.

Keep it clear

As you examine college resume templates and college resume examples, take note of the language and structure in a sample college resume. It’s important to use concise language and clear structure throughout your resume for college. 

Additionally, do not include excessive text or overly detailed explanations on your college application resume. You want your resume for college to be simple and clear. In general, you should limit your high school resume to one page, or two at the absolute maximum. Most people who review your college resume will spend about 30 seconds with it. So, your resume for college should be easily scanned, above all. 

When you use concise language throughout your college resume, it will make it easier for your reader to understand your accomplishments. Because most people will skim your high school resume, having a clear structure throughout will make it easy to read. Keep it simple and keep it consistent. 

Steer clear of images and graphics

While you might come across this in your college resume format research, it’s best to avoid including images or graphics in your college application resume. Although this is a new trend and can be seen on multiple college resume examples and college resume templates, it can be distracting and take up valuable space on your high school resume.  

For instance, if you volunteered at twelve different soup kitchens, there is no need to list each one separately. That will become tedious and take up too much space on your essential resume for college application. 

Finally, you should never misrepresent your qualifications on your high school resume. Be honest about your involvements, however many you have. It’s not worth potentially getting caught in a lie or an exaggeration during a college interview.

Where do I submit my college application resume? 

While you apply to college, you might be wondering what to do with your resume for college applications. Many college application portals will include a section for your college resume, especially if a resume for college is listed as one of the college application requirements. 

Most college application portals list the high school resume section as optional. While you are applying to college, you might notice that most colleges require that you fill out an activities section as part of the application process. The activities section will ask you to list your extracurriculars for college. Often, your activities section will serve the same purpose as your college resume. 

If you choose to include a high school resume with your college application, it should reflect your accomplishments in more detail than your activities section. Additionally, if you choose to include a resume for college with your application, make sure it adds something new to your activities list. 

You will receive access to your college’s application portal once you have completed the process of applying to college but before you receive a college acceptance letter and officially enroll . When it’s time to upload your high school resume, be sure to upload it as a PDF rather than a Word document. That way, you can ensure that your formatting of your college resume stays consistent on every application. 

We’ll provide more details about the college resume format later in this article, when we examine college resume examples and college resume templates. 

How often should I update my college resume? 

It may be helpful to update your resume (or other records) every six months to a year in order to avoid missing any important details. You can use your college resume for more than just your college application requirements. In fact, there may be internships or other opportunities you seek out in high school that will ask you to submit a high school resume. Updating your college resume often will help you keep track of your experiences and accomplishments. 

In general, you should update your high school resume as often as it works for you. However, when you are almost done applying to college , you will want to make sure that your college resume is up-to-date and accurate before including it with your application. 

No matter how often you update your resume for college applications, we encourage you to keep copies of any old college resume examples you might have. Having old copies of your college resume can help you in the future as you begin to tailor your college resume for potential reviewers. 

How to write a resume for college

Now that we have a better understanding of what makes up a college resume, let’s focus on how to write a resume for college. You can begin writing your college resume by creating a list of your key details . Your key details will be the starting point for your college resume. 

First, you will include information about where you go to school, as well as your current GPA and any Honors statuses. You will also want to list your academic interests on your high school resume, including what you hope to study or pursue beyond high school. 

You will also include your extracurricular activities and the years you engaged in them on your resume for college. Additionally, you will want to add any jobs or internships you have had and the dates you held them. You can also list any leadership positions and the years you held them on your college resume. 

Finally, you will want to include any special skills you have on your resume for college. This can include certifications as well. 

Once you have a list of your key details, you will want to organize these details into sections on your high school resume. For some, these sections might include Objective, Education, Leadership Positions, Work and Internship History, and Special Skills.  

College Resume Walkthrough

Linked about is our college resume walkthrough. Let’s do another walkthrough of these sections here to see what kind of information to include in each one. 

Your objective is the reason why you are writing your college resume. This section will vary depending on where you send your resume. 

If you are creating a resume for college applications, you should include information about your intended major or future career in this section. However, if you are sending your high school resume to a potential employer, your objective section will include information about why you are uniquely skilled for the job. 

Education 

The education section of your college resume should include all high schools you have attended, along with your GPA and anticipated date of graduation. 

If your high school provides you with a class rank, you can also include that piece of information within this section of your resume for college. 

Additionally, you can include your SAT or ACT score within this section, especially if you are submitting your resume for college applications. 

Leadership Positions 

Be sure to highlight any leadership positions you have held in your college resume. This includes any appointed positions you have received and even informal leadership positions. 

For example, if you were voted Class President of your Student Council, you can include that information here. Or maybe you are a peer mentor on your soccer team—you can include those details within this section of your college resume. 

Work and Internship History 

This section of your high school resume will list your whole work history, including internships , summer jobs , or part-time jobs. 

You will want to include the job title, company, dates of employment, and a brief outline of your duties for each of the work or internship experiences in this section of your resume for college. 

Special Skills 

Finally, this section of your college resume will outline any technical or soft skills you might have. Soft skills include things like teamwork, communication skills, and conflict resolution. 

In this section of your resume for college, you can also include any languages you speak or certifications you have. 

After you have organized your high school resume into sections, you will want to include a bulleted list detailing your responsibilities within each of your engagements/leadership roles. Be sure to include only relevant details in your descriptions, as it’s important to be concise on your college resume.  

Remember to include the years for every role/activity on your college resume. You will want to list them with the most recent positions/activities at the top of your resume for college. 

College resume format

Your college resume format is one of the most important features to consider as you apply to college. As you construct your college resume format, make sure that it’s readable. 

Most people won’t look at your college resume for more than 30 seconds. So, any reader should be able to skim your high school resume and come away with a relatively clear idea of your qualifications and background. 

The ideal college resume format will have the name of the student clearly listed at the top of the college resume. Another aspect of a strong college resume format will have clear sections with strong headlines. Additionally, the best college resume format will include bulleted lists where appropriate. 

We will look at the college resume format in action as we review some college resume examples and college resume templates. 

College resume examples

As we review our sample college resume, we will explain how to use it to craft your own college resume when you apply to college. Use this sample college resume as a reference point for your resume for college. Then, adapt it to fit your own unique needs. 

We will discuss the sample college resume in the next two sections of this article. As we review the sample college resume, pay particular attention to what makes this college resume clear and effective. You can use this sample college resume as a college resume builder while you apply to college. 

At first glance, you can see that this college resume is organized. This resume for college has clear sections and a concise structure. What makes this college resume clear and effective is its formatting, language, and length. Be sure to incorporate these same elements into your own high school resume as you apply to college. 

Remember, this sample college resume is just one of many college resume examples available. Figure out what you like best about this sample college resume and use it to craft your own college resume. 

Sample college resume – What works? 

The key features of this sample college resume are its formatting, language, and length. Focusing on these in your own college resume will ensure that your resume for college stands out. 

Clear delineated sections

The formatting in this college resume works so well because it includes clearly delineated sections and organized by year. Keeping your information and experiences organized by year is an effective format for a resume for college applications. 

Simple and straightforward language

Another feature of this college resume that works well is the language. There is clear language and details throughout this resume for college that provide context for each role and accomplishment. For example, each of the work experiences in this high school resume feature a brief description of the student’s role and duties/responsibilities. 

Concise structure

Additionally, this resume for college application features a concise structure that helps the reader clearly understand the purpose of each section. The descriptions within this college resume are brief but comprehensive. Having a concise structure and clear language throughout your college resume is key. 

The final key feature that works well in this college resume is the length. This resume for college is just one page in length. Ideally, you want your college resume to fit on one page, but that is not a hard and fast rule. If you have a wealth of experiences and extracurriculars for college, your college resume can go over the typical one-page length. 

Even though this high school resume is a little over one page, it does not have any irrelevant details or extraneous information on it. As you begin writing your college resume, be sure to only include relevant details on it. 

As you learn how to write a college resume, keep track of what features work well and incorporate them into your own college resume. If you are unsure if the sample college resume will work for your college resume, don’t worry. There are plenty of college resume examples and college resume templates to choose from as you are applying to college. 

College resume template

There are multiple college resume examples that you can review as you start your college resume or college application letter . Looking at a college resume template can help you decide on the formatting, language, and length that works best for you. 

Hunter College has a web page with college resume examples and college resume templates. Use it as a resource as you build your high school resume. 

If possible, you should avoid using form templates as you construct your college resume. Instead, think of the college resume template as a guide. You should aim to format your resume for college in the way that works best for you. 

It’s best to be a bit unique as you create your high school resume. Looking at a college resume template can help you find your own distinct style. You can also incorporate different aspects from a college resume template into your own college resume. 

However, be sure to avoid any hard-to-read fonts or unnecessary details in your formatting as you learn how to write a college resume. While your resume shouldn’t look like it was made using a stock college resume template, it also should not be overly crowded.

College resume builder

There are also college resume builder resources, like this one from Wheaton College , that will help students build their college resumes. You can use a college resume builder to format your own resume for college. 

At CollegeAdvisor.com, we host webinars on topics that help you apply to college. We have a webinar on how to write a resume for college, with plenty of college resume examples. We also have a webinar with advice from former Admissions Officers on how to build your college resume. 

Once again, you should generally avoid a pre-formatted college resume builder or college resume template. Instead, use these college resume examples as a jumping off point as you begin the college admissions process. 

Formatting your high school resume yourself makes it easier to make any quick edits or fix any formatting quirks. If you were to use a college resume builder or college resume template, these adjustments may be a challenge. 

Build your College Resume in 5 Simple Steps

Having examined some college resume examples, let’s review 5 simple steps for how to write a resume for college. 

Five Steps to Build your College Resume

Make an accurate list of your experiences, awards, education, and qualifications. You will use this list as the outline for your resume for college. 

Choose the best college resume format for the job. Before you finalize your choice of college resume format , review a college resume template or college resume examples for guidance. Then, create a resume header for your college resume. 

Add your accurate information by section on your resume for college. Reference the college resume examples you reviewed previously to choose the sections you will use on your high school resume. Organize each list by year, placing the most recent item at the top of your resume for college. Be sure to separate your extracurricular experiences from your awards/honors, creating two lists (or more if necessary). 

Format your lists to be clear and readable , and add your name and contact information as the header of your college resume. 

Ask a friend, family member, or mentor to copy edit your resume for college! Having another set of eyes on your high school resume will help you create the strongest resume for college possible. 

How to write a college resume – Final Thoughts

In this article, we reviewed how to write a college resume. As we discussed the purpose of a college application resume, we examined college resume examples and described key features that work in a college resume. We hope the college resume examples we featured in our article on how to write a resume for college help you craft your high school resume as you apply to college.

Need help crafting the perfect college application resume? CollegeAdvisor.com can teach you how to write a resume for college. Register for a free CollegeAdvisor.com account and receive access to hundreds of articles and webinars. These resources will help you craft your college resume as you begin applying to college.

This article was written by  Claire Babbs . If you want to get help with your college applications from Claire or other  CollegeAdvisor.com  Admissions Experts , click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.

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The College Resume: A How-To Guide

The word "resume" can feel so corporate. It can evoke a general sense of "ugh." 😬

As a junior or senior in high school, you're likely wanting to enjoy yourself and spend time with friends before heading to college.

Besides, a resume isn't necessary if you aren't applying to jobs...or is it?

What exactly is a college resume and how do you build one?

A college resume is a brief snapshot of a student’s high school achievements, interests, work experience, community service, and leadership skills. You have more professional experiences to share with colleges than you may think.

A resume highlighting all things ✨ professional you ✨ may be your ticket in.

In this blog post, we will teach you how to write a high school resume for a college application. Don't worry, it's not a huge lift. You can write a college resume in an evening!

We will cover:

Understanding the Basics of College Resumes

What your college resume should include, formatting tips for your college resume, common questions about college admission resumes.

• Getting Started on Your College Resume with Scoir

Why is it important to have a college resume?

A college representative may be responsible for covering up to 6 states or thousands of high schools in a single school year. Whew! You may only have a few minutes to make an impression on him or her. Your college resume will quickly give the rep a peek into who you are and how you have chosen to spend your time while in high school.

When to Start Creating a High School Resume for a College Application

Freshman year of high school is the ideal time to start your resume. Adding activities and awards each year will ensure you do not forget what you've earned and done.

Plus, tracking each year allows you to see which categories to give more attention to in order to increase the strength of your resume throughout high school.

Keep in mind longevity in one or two activities carries more weight than surface-level activity in numerous activities. College personnel can see through 👀 someone who is simply trying to pad their resume, versus someone who is passionate in a given area.

If you're just starting your college resume as a junior or senior, don't kick yourself. Go back in your files, old classwork, emails, journals, etc. to jog your memory.

Before we get too far into it...if you prefer learning visually, watch this video on building a college resume. 

The Basics Section

Craft a heading for your resume with your personal and contact information: your name, address, phone number, email address, and personal statement. 

Academic Credentials and Education Section

You'll want to record the following academic credentials:

• Where you went to high school (If you attended multiple, list the most recent one first and include the names of each high school, city, state and the grade level you attended the school)
• Coursework achievements that are relevant to your desired major
• Class rank (if applicable and of benefit)
• Test scores (if applicable)

Activities and Professional Experiences Section

This section will make up the bulk of your resume, and should show your personality! List achievements and responsibilities that you participate in and outside of school. You'll want to record things such as:

• School-related activities like clubs, sports teams, and musical groups
• Extracurriculars such as research experience, babysitting, volunteer work, community service, special activities, summer courses, local competitions, taking care of your younger siblings, hobbies, sports, and more
• Professional experiences and work history , including jobs and job-shadowing

Awards and Honors Section

Highly competitive colleges and universities are looking for students with strong leadership skills above the high school level. They like to see regional, state, and national awards in addition to leadership skills. The same applies to moderately competitive universities that offer full tuition plus room and board scholarships. In this section, you'll want to include:

• The name of the award you received
• A brief description (if not apparent by the award's name)
• The date you received the award
• The position you held in that club or organization

If you aspire to earn admittance to a highly competitive school or want to earn a competitive full-ride scholarship to an in-state public school, pay attention to the strength of your college resume. Share it with your advisor, counselor, or favorite teacher. Ask them for suggestions to get more involved on campus.

Special Skills Section

This last section should be relatively short, but can include some unique facts about yourself! Below are just a few examples of what you might include here:

• Do you have any hobbies? Talk briefly about your love and skill of photography, crafting, jewelry making, or whatever it may be
• Proficiency in a foreign language. If you are multi-lingual and feel confident in your experience, include it!
• Technical skills. Things such as welding, cooking, carpentry, graphic arts, fixing cars, and more

The format and look of your resume matters! Here are few tips for formatting and writing your resume in an effective way:

Styling Tips for Your Resume

• Go with a traditional font. A serif font like Times New Roman looks professional and is a traditional choice
• Style consistently. All of your headings should match and all sections should be consistent. If you underline one heading, underline them all. If you use bullets in one section, use them in all
• Keep it to one page. Your drafted resume can be as long as you'd like if it helps you keep track of your experiences. However, when you're ready to submit your resume to a college, it should be just one page
• Don't touch the margins! Whitespace is your friend. If you're looking for more space, resist the urge to adjust margins, and try adjust the content of your resume instead
• Save as a PDF. Save your resume as a PDF and title it: "Your Name_Resume.pdf"

Writing Tips for Your Resume

• Use action verbs. You want to describe your connection to an achievement through action verbs. For example: " Planned and led the project that tripled club members" 
• Be concise. Save the flowery, detailed language for your college essay . Your resume should be concise
• Use numbers. When possible, use numbers to help quantify your achievements. 
• Reference relevant skills. Be sure to use plenty of language to showcase your skills as they relate to what you are interested in studying in college
• Find a template or example. Resume examples, like the college resume example here , can be a huge help in deciding what to include in your own resume and how to format it
• Proofread and ask for help. Proofread your work carefully! Then, ask a friend, family member, or trusted mentor to proofread and offer you feedback

⭐ Create a Resume in Scoir ⭐

➡️ Download a Sample Resume Here ⬅️

What if I can't be involved on campus because of family responsibilities?

Many of my students work 30 hours per week at a job to pay bills at home. Other students are responsible for younger siblings while their parents work 12-hour shifts. If this is your reality, make sure you communicate this to the college.

Working to assist your family is a noble and impressive responsibility. If you are a manager at work or train new employees, be sure to include that under the leadership section on your resume.  

What if I spend my free time on an activity outside of school?

Over the decades I have been a high school counselor, many of my students were concerned because their interests lie outside the high school campus. No problem! One of my past students raced stock cars on the weekend. Another student did barrel horse racing. Yet another was extremely involved in her church in various ways. Colleges like diversity of interests! Be sure to highlight all activities on and off campus.

Are there other uses for college resume?

Yes! Bring a copy to your next job interview and impress the interviewer. Bring multiple copies to scholarship or admission interviews in case they do not have a copy in front of them. It is an easy conversation starter. You may want to apply to a Greek Organization freshman year at college or run for an office of a club. Your high school resume will be extremely useful in highlighting your past achievements. And finally, some teachers or counselors will ask for a copy when writing your letters of recommendation for college during your senior year.

How long should a college resume be?

Try to keep your final college resume on just one page, and try not to decrease the margins. 

Should I put my GPA on my resume?

Yes, adding your GPA to your resume is a best practice.

By now I hope I have convinced you of the importance of creating your college resume. It is definitely worth the effort based on the potential return on your time!

Get Started on Your College Resume with Scoir

If you're a student that is currently using Scoir, we have a simple tool to help you build your resume. You can view our guide to creating a resume in Scoir .

College resumes can be organized in many different ways to help you communicate your experience and skills. If you are not a current user of Scoir, or if you would prefer to organize it on your own, below is just a sample of one way to build your college resume. We hope it helps!

This article was originally published on March 17, 2021. It was updated on August 8, 2023 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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How to Write a Personal Essay for Your College Application

What does it take to land in the “accept” (instead of “reject”) pile?

How can you write an essay that helps advance you in the eyes of the admissions officers and makes a real impression? Here are some tips to get you started.

• Start early.  Do not leave it until the last minute. Give yourself time when you don’t have other homework or extracurriculars hanging over your head to work on the essay.
• Keep the focus narrow.  Your essay does not have to cover a massive, earth-shattering event. Some people in their teens haven’t experienced a major life event. Some people have. Either way, it’s okay.
• Be yourself.  Whether writing about a painful experience or a more simple experience, use the narrative to be vulnerable and honest about who you are. Use words you would normally use. Trust your voice and the fact that your story is interesting enough in that no one else has lived it.
• Be creative.  “Show, don’t tell,” and that applies here — to an extent. The best essays typically do both. You can help your reader see and feel what you are describing by using some figurative language throughout your piece.
• Make a point. As you finish your final body paragraphs ask yourself “So what?” This will help you hone in on how to end your essay in a way that elevates it into a story about an insight or discovery you made about yourself, rather than just being about an experience you had.

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

We’ve all heard about the dreaded “college essay,” the bane of every high school senior’s existence. This daunting element of the college application is something that can create angst for even the most accomplished students.

• AA Amy Allen is a writer, educator, and lifelong learner. Her freelance writing business,  All of the Write Words , focuses on providing high school students with one-on-one feedback to guide them through the college application process and with crafting a thoughtful personal essay. A dedicated poet, Amy’s work has also been published in several journals including  Pine Row Press ,  Months to Years,  and  Atlanta Review .

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How to Write a Resume for College Admissions - the Ultimate Guide

Writing a resume for a college admissions package requires a different approach to writing a job application resume. Here are the five things you’ll need to consider with answers below.

• Do you need to write a resume for college?
• What’s the difference between a professional resume and a college application resume?
• How to show off your soft skills on a college resume?
• What you should put on your resume vs. your college essay vs. a letter of recommendation?
• Other frequently asked questions about college resumes

Don't like to read? Watch the video instead!

Introducing our expert

At Everydae we know a LOT about making studying fun so you can ace high school without the stress. But we also recognize that we’re not a specialist on everything (!)

That’s why, for many of our blog posts, we interview an expert. This is someone who has spent years in the field helping hundreds, if not thousands of high school students prepare for the next stage of their lives.

Today’s expert is Dr. Genevieve Morgan from Dr. Morgan College Counseling . Dr. Morgan helps families navigate the admissions and career planning process to find the right-fit college for them.

Before we begin...

What is a college resume for admission?

A college resume for admission is a 1-2 page document that describes a high school student’s notable accomplishments.

‍ It is different to a job resume in that it can also highlight key projects or experiences that demonstrate to an admissions officer why the student will be a good fit for their college. Calling out project-based achievements is especially important for students who don’t have an extensive job history or volunteer experiences.

Part 1: Do you need to write a resume for college?

That depends. Whether you submit a resume with your college application (or bring one to your college interviews) varies from institution to institution.

‍ Some colleges have banned students from submitting a resume, while some colleges require it.  Before you begin downloading a high school resume templates, make sure you have your shortlist of schools handy so you can establish:

• Which schools want you to submit a resume
• Any additional information the school provides on what they are looking for in the application

Part 2: What's unique about a high school resume compared to a professional resume?

The goal of a professional resume is to get you a job and the most important thing that employers are looking for is whether you have the skills they need to get the job done.

‍ In contrast, college resumes can focus less on hard skills. It should give a college admissions officer insight into why you would be a good addition to the student body and how you are different from other students.

As Dr. Morgan, a professional admissions consultant puts it:

“Something that the college resume should have, which you won't see on a regular job resume… is you need to communicate that you're curious, that you're passionate [and] that you're innovative. It’s a lot of the things that educators call soft skills.”

This other piece of advice is also useful to understand:

“I know from both a college and a high school admissions committee perspective that you're looking for the kind of kids who will be fun to teach, who will help sustain and create the fabric of an institution... And that will be kind, that will be good roommates, good classmates, people that other people want to collaborate with.”

Part 3: How do you show off your soft skills on a resume?

To show off your soft skills on a resume, you should highlight project-based accomplishments amongst any work history, grades and extracurriculars.

‍ This shows an admissions committee that you have more depth than an applicant who simply lists “babysitter” or “volunteer” or “tutor” on their resume.

What’s an example of a soft skill you can highlight on your CV?

An example of a soft skill on your resume is a project that you’ve done outside of school that demonstrates your creativity, ingenuity and drive. Dr. Morgan gives a great example of a soft skill that one of her students demonstrated:

Dr. Morgan: So I have a kid this year who went to go do some community service and he realized that one of the things that people are lacking is an ability to wash their clothes. Homeless people don't have access to washing machines so he designed a portable washer for clothes, it's like a salad spinner. Have you ever used a salad spinner?

Everydae: Yeah! I have one on top of my fridge, hasn't been used in a while but yes.

Dr Morgan : All right! So he took that design. And he made it bigger and then he used a 3-D printer… and he actually has a working model of this very cheap way to make a portable contraption that homeless people can use to wash the clothes. So, that's something that went on his resume. 

Part 4: What should you put on your resume vs. your college essay or letter of recommendation?

One of the big mistakes that students make is that they repeat themselves across all aspects of their application.

‍ A better approach is to use each part of your submission to show off a unique part of your personality and achievements. By highlighting different aspects of yourself in each area of the application, you’ll convey that you're a well-rounded person. Here’s how:

Teacher/counselor recommendations:

These will usually focus on what you have been doing in the classroom. As Dr. Morgan puts it:

[Teachers are] going to use anecdotes about a project in math or how you brought a group project together and steered everyone in the right direction. Or they're going to talk about a particular paper that you wrote about the Great Gatsby, etc.

As a result, letters of recommendation are a great way to show how academically accomplished you are and how you can effectively solve problems in a school setting.

The resume:

While your recommendations usually focus on events that take place within a school setting, your resume is the place where your projects and innovative accomplishments outside of school can shine. Here’s a trick from Dr. Morgan that you can use if you’re struggling to come up with ideas:

Talk to your mother, your father, your aunt and ask them about things that they remember about you. You will find stories there that as a student you may just not have thought about. 

Pro tip: While you think that the accomplishments your family mentions may not sound as exciting as inventing a washing machine for homeless people, there is always a story to tell. As Dr. Morgan went on to say:

I've never found a student who is not interesting. Even if they think that they're not interesting, they always have something cool about them. And then the other thing is that admissions counselors are looking for real people, they want authenticity. 

High school resumes provide a quick overview and insight into the breadth of your accomplishments as a student. Your essay will focus on a deeper exploration. It gives you the chance to share how you view yourself and the world in more detail. And it gives more clues to an admissions officer as to whether you’ll be a good fit for the school and its culture. 

The bottom line is, you should take every opportunity to tell the admissions committee something new about yourself that they don't know. 

Need college essay ideas? Use this ultimate hack.  

Part 5: Frequently asked questions

Q: How long should a college application resume be?

Your college application resume should be no longer than 2 pages. Many people also advise that one page is enough, but it completely depends on you and which aspects of your past you want to highlight in your application. Any longer than two pages and you’re in danger of the admissions committee not reading it.

Q: What information goes on a college application resume?

• Your Personal details:
• Your name, home address and your email. Note: if you don’t already have a professional email address, then now is a great time to create one
• School information:
• The name of your high school
• Graduation date
• Weighted GPA
• Class Rank (if applicable)
• SAT/ACT scores (if applicable)
• Awards and accomplishments
• Academic accomplishments
• Local news in which you’ve been featured
• Key personal projects you want to highlight
• Publications you have been featured in
• Key courses you have done well in (including APs)
• Summer programs or college courses you have taken
• Any specialized courses that are not on your transcript
• Extracurricular activities, hobbies and special skills
• Highlight what you achieved and why these are important to you
• Work experience
• Don’t just list your job title and dates, include some bullet points about what you learned/achieved

Who is Dr. Morgan College Counseling ?

When I first started helping kids, it was essays and supplements. Now I offer everything from list building to interview prep. One of the things I most enjoy is helping kids with scholarship applications. Often people think that if they apply to the public schools, they'll get the best deal but in reality a lot of the private schools offer more aid.  ‍ I also work with rising ninth and tenth graders to help them plan their high school career. People think that sometimes you have to be involved in 10 different extracurriculars, when in reality you should find what really makes your heart sing.  ‍ In short, I’m a full-service one-stop shop!

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How to Write the Most Common Supplemental College Essays: A Complete Guide

Note: This post focuses on supplemental essays. If you want advice on the Common App prompts, check out our guide to the Common App essays .

Your grades are in, your test scores have been sent, and recommendation letters have been uploaded…but there’s one last component of your college applications left: the essays. For many students, essays are the final and most daunting hurdle to clear before hitting submit.

Your essays, however, are your opportunity to tell admissions officers how you want them to remember you. Maybe you didn’t do so well on the SAT, or maybe you got a lower grade than you hoped for in Honors Chemistry, but you can’t change your grades or scores.

The essays, however, are entirely in your control. There is so much freedom to tell your story and what makes you unique. Our mission at CollegeVine is to make the essay-writing as stress-free as possible. Read on for our tips and tricks on writing a college essay that will give you the best chance at getting that thick envelope!

Content overview:

• Why this college?
• Why this major?
• Elaborate on an extracurricular activity or work experience.
• Discuss a community you belong to that has impacted who you are today.
• Crafting the essay
• Avoiding pitfalls

Want to learn more about Supplemental Essays? Check out one of our popular recorded live streams on this topic.

Common Types of College Essays

Colleges will find a hundred different ways to ask a question, but most of the time, the prompt boils down to one of the following common essay themes.

Common Essay #1: Why this college?

Students’ most common mistake on a “Why this college?” essay is lack of specificity; in particular, some students will list attributes that can apply to multiple schools, which is what you want to avoid at all costs.

When it comes to a “Why this college?” essay, you need to discuss qualities and programs specific to that school. It is not enough to merely list or name-drop, however. Instead, talk about why this item is important to you. Here’s how this plays out:

What not to do:

I want to go to the University of Southern California because it is a highly ranked school in Los Angeles. In addition, I like its Cosmic Writers Club, as well as the Incubate USC program. I am especially excited about the abundant film resources.

Why the previous response doesn’t work:

There are many reasons you want to avoid a response like this. Let’s start with the first sentence: replace the school’s name with UCLA and the accuracy doesn’t suffer. What this means is that the sentence is not specific enough to USC. In addition, you never want to state, or even imply, that you’re applying to a school due to prestige or ranking.

The exception for the previous rule is if a school is ranked highly for a specific program of interest. For example, if you want to pursue creative writing and a school has the number one creative writing program in the country, you can mention this because it is a quality specific to that school. A school’s overall prestige, however, should not be mentioned in your essay.

Why else doesn’t this response work? Let’s look at the second sentence. The writer does well to mention specific programs within USC. However, the response fails to discuss why they liked these programs or how they would benefit from having access to them.

What to write instead:

As someone with a lasting love for writing and a blossoming passion for entrepreneurship, I was so excited to find a large urban school like the University of Southern California that would give me the resources to pursue both. From classes with award-winning authors—amongst them Professor T. Boyle, whose environmental fiction works are similar to those I hope to someday publish—to clubs like the Cosmic Writers Club, which unites author hopefuls, USC offers more resources than I could ever exhaust in my journey to publish my first book.

On the business side, USC is known for fostering the type of creativity and innovation needed in pursuing start-ups. In particular, I was so excited to learn of the Incubate USC program, a unique mothership of ideas that nurtures the creativity of students. With the help of this program, I would be able to pursue my growing interest in the world of start-up ventures.

Why the previous response works:

This response not only mentions programs and resources specific to USC, but it shows how the student would take advantage of these opportunities. In addition, this response portrays passion and ambition, infusing elements of the student’s personality while still staying focused on answering the prompt.

Other things to keep in mind:

• The first time you say the school’s name, you should write it out. After that, you can abbreviate.
• Avoid writing what every other applicant is going to write. For example, every NYU applicant is going to mention NYU’s location in New York City. Unless you have a unique twist on this, you should skip it.
• Don’t mention frivolous things like dorms or dining halls. Your reasons for liking a school should be more substantial.
• Do your research. For example, don’t say you’ve always wanted to go to a city if you’re writing an essay for a rural school.
• Do not copy and paste your “Why this college?” essay and simply change the school name. Many non-Harvard admissions officers have received essays from students about why they want to go to Harvard. If your “Why this college?” essay is so general that you can copy and paste it, your reasoning will not impress admissions officers.

For more tips on writing this essay, see our complete guide to the “Why this college?” essay , including a real sample essay.

Common Essay #2: Why this major? 

One of the most important things to remember is that admissions officers are not looking for a résumé. This is not to say you can’t discuss your activities and how they culminated a passion for a specific major. The challenge, however, is to use these activities to tell a story rather than a mere list of achievements.

How do you do this? Share your thought processes. Many times it is the thoughts surrounding an activity more than the activity itself that will show the reader your journey to choosing a major.

Other tips:

• Don’t ever say that your reason for choosing a major is money-making potential. If you want to mention life beyond college, then talk about how this major will help you achieve your dreams. If your dream is to produce a feature-length film and a film major will help you get there, say that. But don’t say your dream is to be a rich film producer.
• Undeclared? That’s totally okay. Just be sure to list a couple potential majors, and explain your interest in those. Under no circumstances should you say you have absolutely no idea, as that will make you look like you don’t care. For more tips, see our post on how to write the “Why this major?” essay if you’re undecided .

For more tips on writing this essay, see our complete guide to the “Why this major?” essay , including a real sample essay.

Common Essay 3: Elaborate on an extracurricular activity or work experience.

Is there an activity or work experience in your application that you have more to say about? Maybe there’s a story behind it that you want to tell. Some questions to consider are:

• How did you become interested in this extracurricular?
• What is your role in the activity or work experience?
• Why do you do it?
• Have you experienced growth within the activity over time?

There are endless angles you can pursue here, but your essay should, in short, show your motivation behind participating in a certain activity or job.

What you don’t want to do, however, is simply restate something that’s been said elsewhere. If you have already spotlighted an activity in another essay for a given college, don’t write about the same activity. Your goal here is to share new information and your breadth of experiences.

As with the “Why Major?” prompt, it is more powerful to share a story with the reader rather than to detail the activity itself.

For more tips on writing this essay, see our complete guide to the Extracurricular Activity essay , including a real sample essay.

Common Essay 4: Discuss a community you belong to that has impacted who you are today.

“Community” can mean many things, so there are many possible approaches to this prompt. Some applicants respond with a community they’re linked to through culture, and others through sports or a club.

One thing you can emphasize is personal growth—or other aspects of who you are as a person—that has come from belonging to this community. The majority of the essay should, in fact, center around how being part of this group has changed or impacted who you are as a person.

What to avoid:

• Do not discriminate against other communities in your response.
• Try not to talk about your community in broad terms, but instead focus on your place within this community.
• Avoid using the essay as a chance to complain. If you choose to talk about challenges in a certain community, find a way to give your essay a sense of resolution. This can consist even of talking about how you’ve grown as a person or learned how to confront these obstacles in a productive way.

Writing the Essay

Phase 1: ideation.

Highlights of this section:

• Thinking of an idea
• Portraying individuality
• Staying true to yourself
• General tips and tricks

Now that you’re familiar with some of the most common types of essay prompts, let’s dive into the ideation process. Here are some questions that it’s good to ask yourself when you’re just starting out, particularly when the prompt deviates from the more straightforward archetypes above:

• What makes you unique?
• What is your story?
• Is there something you weren’t able to say in your application that you think admissions officers should know?
• Did you mention something earlier in your application that you want to elaborate on?

Remember that your essays, and application in general, should read like a portfolio in which all components are complementary without being redundant. If the application is like a drawing, then the essays should contribute to creating one coherent image without sketching the same line more than once or leaving gaps in the drawing.

Don’t shy away from being quirky! The more you present yourself as your own unique person, the more likely the admissions officer is to remember you. Take the following cases, for instance:

• A football player who scores a winning touchdown in the last five seconds of the game.
• A football player who knits scarves for residents of a retirement home in his free time.

In the first case, telling this story doesn’t do anything to differentiate this football player from others. However, the second story portrays a unique student with two interests the reader might not otherwise have paired together. Individuality is the goal here.

Of course, don’t exaggerate , lie, or pretend to be someone you’re not. In particular, don’t write something just because you think the admissions officer wants to hear it. They have read enough applications to separate the genuine voices from the insincere. As such, your only job is to put your true self on the page!

Here are some other things to keep in mind while brainstorming college essay topics:

• Narratives will always be more successful because they engage the reader emotionally. They are also an easy way to demonstrate how you’ve changed and grown over time.
• If you have already emphasized something in your application, don’t dedicate an essay to it unless can share an entirely new perspective. When in doubt, choose a new topic.
• Your essay doesn’t have to be about something rare and incredible. You don’t have to have started a company or traveled the world to write a solid essay. In fact, some of the strongest essays have taken a simple, perhaps even everyday occurrence, and portrayed it in a beautiful way that shows a unique way of thinking.
• Be sure to answer all aspects of the prompt while still giving the reader insight into who you are. It’s very easy to speak about some topics in third-person or broad terms (example: “What is your idea of success?”). Don’t do this. Instead, find a way to link the prompt to your own life.

Overall, think of the essays as a way to let the admissions officer get to know you on a personal level. Humanize yourself.

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Phase 2: Crafting the Essay

• Show, don’t tell.
• Perfecting the first and last sentence
• What does the essay say about me?

You have likely heard this next tip a hundred times throughout high school, but it’s vital to writing a strong essay: show, don’t tell . The whole point of essays is to give insight into who you are and how you think. Can you effectively do that if you’re merely listing off things that happened? Nope. Let’s take a lot at two examples:

• An example of telling: The cat ran out the door, and I got scared.
• An example of showing: The doorbell rang, accompanied by the creak of the mailbox as the mailman slipped the day’s envelopes inside. I ran downstairs and threw the door open, knowing today was the day I was going to hear back. My excitement made me oblivious, though, and it wasn’t until I saw a blur of dark fur dash through the open door that I realized my mistake.

The second example takes the facts and turns it into a story. It gives the reader a sense of anticipation as well as a character to identify with and root for. That’s what “show, don’t tell” does for your essay.

Now let’s talk about the two most important parts of your essay: the first sentence and the last sentence.

Your first sentence’s job is to hook the reader. Aim for a first sentence that surprises, even slightly jars, the reader to wake them up and get their full focus on your essay. Here are some examples:

• It wasn’t supposed to be blue.
• Was the car meant to sound like that?

In both cases, the writer has intentionally withheld information, providing just enough to leave the reader wanting to know the rest of the story. What isn’t supposed to be blue? What happens next?

As for the last sentence, its job is to resolve the essay, leaving the reader with a sense of peace and finality. Give the reader one last great impression to remember you by. Here’s an example:

“I’ve learned to hold my failures close; not so close that they burden me, per say, but just

close enough that they can guide me as I journey onward.”

This sentence works because it gives the reader a sense that, though the story continues on in the form of the narrator’s ongoing journey, the story on the page has been resolved. It feels peaceful.

Now then, after you’ve completed your first draft, the next thing you want to do is ask yourself the following question : What three things about me can the reader get from reading this essay? If you’re having trouble answering this question, then the essay needs to share more about you. Otherwise, you’re ready for revision!

Phase 3: Revision

• Careless errors
• Staying under the word limit
• Getting a second opinion

You’ve done the hard work. You came up with a brilliant idea and poured your heart and soul into the writing. Now comes the tedious part: revision.

Most importantly, college essays need to be absolutely devoid of grammatical or spelling mistakes . You don’t want to give your admissions officer the impression that you didn’t care enough to proofread, especially after all of your hard work.

Another aspect that tends to frustrate students is the word limit. If you’ve made it under the word limit, great! If not, here are some methods of cutting down.

• Example: In visiting your campus, it occurred to me that the method with which you schedule your classes is ideal because…
• This can be cut down to: The way you schedule your classes is ideal because…
• Most times phrases such as “I think,” “I believe,” “it seems,” and other similar wording is not necessary and simply takes up extra space. Use your judgement, but generally, these phrases get the boot.
• Keep an eye out for the word “that.” This can almost always be cut.
• If you use a long hyphen (—), no space is needed between words. This will bring your word count down. Don’t get too hyphen happy, though!

If the above tips are not enough to get you below the word limit,  you may need to remove entire paragraphs. If a paragraph does not drive the story forward, or is unnecessary in understanding the progression of the story, you may want to remove it.

Once your essay is mistake-free and below the word limit, your next task is to send it to at least three trusted individuals. Ask them the following questions to guide their suggestions:

• Does it make sense?
• Does it sound like me?
• What does it say about me? (Check that this aligns with what you want it to say about you).

Take note of their responses and decide what changes you want to implement. Be receptive, but remember to stay true to yourself and your vision.

Avoiding Pitfalls:

• Avoid discussion of taboo subjects or things that can be perceived as controversial. Everyone is entitled to their own views, but you don’t want to chance saying something controversial that your reader might disagree with.
• Never appear discriminatory in any way. Colleges tend to be vastly left-wing and progressive.
• Don’t turn in work that isn’t your own. When does accepting another person’s edits become plagiarism? If they are rewriting entire sentences in their own words, it is no longer your own work.
• Avoid clichés! It is okay to write about a common experience (like a sports injury or service trip), but only if you have a unique take on them. Don’t write on a popular topic if you will simply describe the same lesson that everyone else learned.
• Don’t write your essay directly into the application text box or it may not save your work. Write it in a separate document and copy and paste it later. Then, double check that the format is correct.

At the end of the day, your essays should just leave the reader thinking: I want to have a conversation with this student. You want to show that you’re an multifaceted, mature person with an interesting story to tell. At CollegeVine, we’re rooting for you all the way—go get writing!

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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College admissions

Course: college admissions   >   unit 4.

• Writing a strong college admissions essay
• Avoiding common admissions essay mistakes
• Brainstorming tips for your college essay
• How formal should the tone of your college essay be?
• Taking your college essay to the next level
• Sample essay 1 with admissions feedback
• Sample essay 2 with admissions feedback
• Student story: Admissions essay about a formative experience
• Student story: Admissions essay about personal identity
• Student story: Admissions essay about community impact
• Student story: Admissions essay about a past mistake
• Student story: Admissions essay about a meaningful poem

Writing tips and techniques for your college essay

Pose a question the reader wants answered, don't focus exclusively on the past, experiment with the unexpected, don't summarize, want to join the conversation.

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Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, getting college essay help: important do's and don’ts.

College Essays

If you grow up to be a professional writer, everything you write will first go through an editor before being published. This is because the process of writing is really a process of re-writing —of rethinking and reexamining your work, usually with the help of someone else. So what does this mean for your student writing? And in particular, what does it mean for very important, but nonprofessional writing like your college essay? Should you ask your parents to look at your essay? Pay for an essay service?

If you are wondering what kind of help you can, and should, get with your personal statement, you've come to the right place! In this article, I'll talk about what kind of writing help is useful, ethical, and even expected for your college admission essay . I'll also point out who would make a good editor, what the differences between editing and proofreading are, what to expect from a good editor, and how to spot and stay away from a bad one.

Table of Contents

What Kind of Help for Your Essay Can You Get?

What's Good Editing?

What should an editor do for you, what kind of editing should you avoid, proofreading, what's good proofreading, what kind of proofreading should you avoid.

What Do Colleges Think Of You Getting Help With Your Essay?

Who Can/Should Help You?

Advice for editors.

Should You Pay Money For Essay Editing?

The Bottom Line

What's next, what kind of help with your essay can you get.

Rather than talking in general terms about "help," let's first clarify the two different ways that someone else can improve your writing . There is editing, which is the more intensive kind of assistance that you can use throughout the whole process. And then there's proofreading, which is the last step of really polishing your final product.

Let me go into some more detail about editing and proofreading, and then explain how good editors and proofreaders can help you."

Editing is helping the author (in this case, you) go from a rough draft to a finished work . Editing is the process of asking questions about what you're saying, how you're saying it, and how you're organizing your ideas. But not all editing is good editing . In fact, it's very easy for an editor to cross the line from supportive to overbearing and over-involved.

Ability to clarify assignments. A good editor is usually a good writer, and certainly has to be a good reader. For example, in this case, a good editor should make sure you understand the actual essay prompt you're supposed to be answering.

Open-endedness. Good editing is all about asking questions about your ideas and work, but without providing answers. It's about letting you stick to your story and message, and doesn't alter your point of view.

Think of an editor as a great travel guide. It can show you the many different places your trip could take you. It should explain any parts of the trip that could derail your trip or confuse the traveler. But it never dictates your path, never forces you to go somewhere you don't want to go, and never ignores your interests so that the trip no longer seems like it's your own. So what should good editors do?

Help Brainstorm Topics

Sometimes it's easier to bounce thoughts off of someone else. This doesn't mean that your editor gets to come up with ideas, but they can certainly respond to the various topic options you've come up with. This way, you're less likely to write about the most boring of your ideas, or to write about something that isn't actually important to you.

If you're wondering how to come up with options for your editor to consider, check out our guide to brainstorming topics for your college essay .

Help Revise Your Drafts

Here, your editor can't upset the delicate balance of not intervening too much or too little. It's tricky, but a great way to think about it is to remember: editing is about asking questions, not giving answers .

Revision questions should point out:

• Places where more detail or more description would help the reader connect with your essay
• Places where structure and logic don't flow, losing the reader's attention
• Places where there aren't transitions between paragraphs, confusing the reader
• Moments where your narrative or the arguments you're making are unclear

But pointing to potential problems is not the same as actually rewriting—editors let authors fix the problems themselves.

Bad editing is usually very heavy-handed editing. Instead of helping you find your best voice and ideas, a bad editor changes your writing into their own vision.

You may be dealing with a bad editor if they:

• Add material (examples, descriptions) that doesn't come from you
• Use a thesaurus to make your college essay sound "more mature"
• Add meaning or insight to the essay that doesn't come from you
• Tell you what to say and how to say it
• Write sentences, phrases, and paragraphs for you
• Change your voice in the essay so it no longer sounds like it was written by a teenager

Colleges can tell the difference between a 17-year-old's writing and a 50-year-old's writing. Not only that, they have access to your SAT or ACT Writing section, so they can compare your essay to something else you wrote. Writing that's a little more polished is great and expected. But a totally different voice and style will raise questions.

Where's the Line Between Helpful Editing and Unethical Over-Editing?

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether your college essay editor is doing the right thing. Here are some guidelines for staying on the ethical side of the line.

• An editor should say that the opening paragraph is kind of boring, and explain what exactly is making it drag. But it's overstepping for an editor to tell you exactly how to change it.
• An editor should point out where your prose is unclear or vague. But it's completely inappropriate for the editor to rewrite that section of your essay.
• An editor should let you know that a section is light on detail or description. But giving you similes and metaphors to beef up that description is a no-go.

Proofreading (also called copy-editing) is checking for errors in the last draft of a written work. It happens at the end of the process and is meant as the final polishing touch. Proofreading is meticulous and detail-oriented, focusing on small corrections. It sands off all the surface rough spots that could alienate the reader.

Because proofreading is usually concerned with making fixes on the word or sentence level, this is the only process where someone else can actually add to or take away things from your essay . This is because what they are adding or taking away tends to be one or two misplaced letters.

Laser focus. Proofreading is all about the tiny details, so the ability to really concentrate on finding small slip-ups is a must.

Excellent grammar and spelling skills. Proofreaders need to dot every "i" and cross every "t." Good proofreaders should correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. They should put foreign words in italics and surround quotations with quotation marks. They should check that you used the correct college's name, and that you adhered to any formatting requirements (name and date at the top of the page, uniform font and size, uniform spacing).

Limited interference. A proofreader needs to make sure that you followed any word limits. But if cuts need to be made to shorten the essay, that's your job and not the proofreader's.

A bad proofreader either tries to turn into an editor, or just lacks the skills and knowledge necessary to do the job.

Some signs that you're working with a bad proofreader are:

• If they suggest making major changes to the final draft of your essay. Proofreading happens when editing is already finished.
• If they aren't particularly good at spelling, or don't know grammar, or aren't detail-oriented enough to find someone else's small mistakes.
• If they start swapping out your words for fancier-sounding synonyms, or changing the voice and sound of your essay in other ways. A proofreader is there to check for errors, not to take the 17-year-old out of your writing.

What Do Colleges Think of Your Getting Help With Your Essay?

Admissions officers agree: light editing and proofreading are good—even required ! But they also want to make sure you're the one doing the work on your essay. They want essays with stories, voice, and themes that come from you. They want to see work that reflects your actual writing ability, and that focuses on what you find important.

On the Importance of Editing

Get feedback. Have a fresh pair of eyes give you some feedback. Don't allow someone else to rewrite your essay, but do take advantage of others' edits and opinions when they seem helpful. ( Bates College )

Read your essay aloud to someone. Reading the essay out loud offers a chance to hear how your essay sounds outside your head. This exercise reveals flaws in the essay's flow, highlights grammatical errors and helps you ensure that you are communicating the exact message you intended. ( Dickinson College )

On the Value of Proofreading

Share your essays with at least one or two people who know you well—such as a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend—and ask for feedback. Remember that you ultimately have control over your essays, and your essays should retain your own voice, but others may be able to catch mistakes that you missed and help suggest areas to cut if you are over the word limit. ( Yale University )

Proofread and then ask someone else to proofread for you. Although we want substance, we also want to be able to see that you can write a paper for our professors and avoid careless mistakes that would drive them crazy. ( Oberlin College )

On Watching Out for Too Much Outside Influence

Limit the number of people who review your essay. Too much input usually means your voice is lost in the writing style. ( Carleton College )

Ask for input (but not too much). Your parents, friends, guidance counselors, coaches, and teachers are great people to bounce ideas off of for your essay. They know how unique and spectacular you are, and they can help you decide how to articulate it. Keep in mind, however, that a 45-year-old lawyer writes quite differently from an 18-year-old student, so if your dad ends up writing the bulk of your essay, we're probably going to notice. ( Vanderbilt University )

Now let's talk about some potential people to approach for your college essay editing and proofreading needs. It's best to start close to home and slowly expand outward. Not only are your family and friends more invested in your success than strangers, but they also have a better handle on your interests and personality. This knowledge is key for judging whether your essay is expressing your true self.

Parents or Close Relatives

Your family may be full of potentially excellent editors! Parents are deeply committed to your well-being, and family members know you and your life well enough to offer details or incidents that can be included in your essay. On the other hand, the rewriting process necessarily involves criticism, which is sometimes hard to hear from someone very close to you.

A parent or close family member is a great choice for an editor if you can answer "yes" to the following questions. Is your parent or close relative a good writer or reader? Do you have a relationship where editing your essay won't create conflict? Are you able to constructively listen to criticism and suggestion from the parent?

One suggestion for defusing face-to-face discussions is to try working on the essay over email. Send your parent a draft, have them write you back some comments, and then you can pick which of their suggestions you want to use and which to discard.

Teachers or Tutors

A humanities teacher that you have a good relationship with is a great choice. I am purposefully saying humanities, and not just English, because teachers of Philosophy, History, Anthropology, and any other classes where you do a lot of writing, are all used to reviewing student work.

Moreover, any teacher or tutor that has been working with you for some time, knows you very well and can vet the essay to make sure it "sounds like you."

If your teacher or tutor has some experience with what college essays are supposed to be like, ask them to be your editor. If not, then ask whether they have time to proofread your final draft.

Guidance or College Counselor at Your School

The best thing about asking your counselor to edit your work is that this is their job. This means that they have a very good sense of what colleges are looking for in an application essay.

At the same time, school counselors tend to have relationships with admissions officers in many colleges, which again gives them insight into what works and which college is focused on what aspect of the application.

Unfortunately, in many schools the guidance counselor tends to be way overextended. If your ratio is 300 students to 1 college counselor, you're unlikely to get that person's undivided attention and focus. It is still useful to ask them for general advice about your potential topics, but don't expect them to be able to stay with your essay from first draft to final version.

Friends, Siblings, or Classmates

Although they most likely don't have much experience with what colleges are hoping to see, your peers are excellent sources for checking that your essay is you .

Friends and siblings are perfect for the read-aloud edit. Read your essay to them so they can listen for words and phrases that are stilted, pompous, or phrases that just don't sound like you.

You can even trade essays and give helpful advice on each other's work.

If your editor hasn't worked with college admissions essays very much, no worries! Any astute and attentive reader can still greatly help with your process. But, as in all things, beginners do better with some preparation.

First, your editor should read our advice about how to write a college essay introduction , how to spot and fix a bad college essay , and get a sense of what other students have written by going through some admissions essays that worked .

Then, as they read your essay, they can work through the following series of questions that will help them to guide you.

Introduction Questions

• Is the first sentence a killer opening line? Why or why not?
• Does the introduction hook the reader? Does it have a colorful, detailed, and interesting narrative? Or does it propose a compelling or surprising idea?
• Can you feel the author's voice in the introduction, or is the tone dry, dull, or overly formal? Show the places where the voice comes through.

Essay Body Questions

• Does the essay have a through-line? Is it built around a central argument, thought, idea, or focus? Can you put this idea into your own words?
• How is the essay organized? By logical progression? Chronologically? Do you feel order when you read it, or are there moments where you are confused or lose the thread of the essay?
• Does the essay have both narratives about the author's life and explanations and insight into what these stories reveal about the author's character, personality, goals, or dreams? If not, which is missing?
• Does the essay flow? Are there smooth transitions/clever links between paragraphs? Between the narrative and moments of insight?

Reader Response Questions

• Does the writer's personality come through? Do we know what the speaker cares about? Do we get a sense of "who he or she is"?
• Where did you feel most connected to the essay? Which parts of the essay gave you a "you are there" sensation by invoking your senses? What moments could you picture in your head well?
• Where are the details and examples vague and not specific enough?
• Did you get an "a-ha!" feeling anywhere in the essay? Is there a moment of insight that connected all the dots for you? Is there a good reveal or "twist" anywhere in the essay?
• What are the strengths of this essay? What needs the most improvement?

Should You Pay Money for Essay Editing?

One alternative to asking someone you know to help you with your college essay is the paid editor route. There are two different ways to pay for essay help: a private essay coach or a less personal editing service , like the many proliferating on the internet.

My advice is to think of these options as a last resort rather than your go-to first choice. I'll first go through the reasons why. Then, if you do decide to go with a paid editor, I'll help you decide between a coach and a service.

When to Consider a Paid Editor

In general, I think hiring someone to work on your essay makes a lot of sense if none of the people I discussed above are a possibility for you.

If you can't ask your parents. For example, if your parents aren't good writers, or if English isn't their first language. Or if you think getting your parents to help is going create unnecessary extra conflict in your relationship with them (applying to college is stressful as it is!)

If you can't ask your teacher or tutor. Maybe you don't have a trusted teacher or tutor that has time to look over your essay with focus. Or, for instance, your favorite humanities teacher has very limited experience with college essays and so won't know what admissions officers want to see.

If you can't ask your guidance counselor. This could be because your guidance counselor is way overwhelmed with other students.

If you can't share your essay with those who know you. It might be that your essay is on a very personal topic that you're unwilling to share with parents, teachers, or peers. Just make sure it doesn't fall into one of the bad-idea topics in our article on bad college essays .

If the cost isn't a consideration. Many of these services are quite expensive, and private coaches even more so. If you have finite resources, I'd say that hiring an SAT or ACT tutor (whether it's PrepScholar or someone else) is better way to spend your money . This is because there's no guarantee that a slightly better essay will sufficiently elevate the rest of your application, but a significantly higher SAT score will definitely raise your applicant profile much more.

Should You Hire an Essay Coach?

On the plus side, essay coaches have read dozens or even hundreds of college essays, so they have experience with the format. Also, because you'll be working closely with a specific person, it's more personal than sending your essay to a service, which will know even less about you.

But, on the minus side, you'll still be bouncing ideas off of someone who doesn't know that much about you . In general, if you can adequately get the help from someone you know, there is no advantage to paying someone to help you.

If you do decide to hire a coach, ask your school counselor, or older students that have used the service for recommendations. If you can't afford the coach's fees, ask whether they can work on a sliding scale —many do. And finally, beware those who guarantee admission to your school of choice—essay coaches don't have any special magic that can back up those promises.

Should You Send Your Essay to a Service?

On the plus side, essay editing services provide a similar product to essay coaches, and they cost significantly less . If you have some assurance that you'll be working with a good editor, the lack of face-to-face interaction won't prevent great results.

On the minus side, however, it can be difficult to gauge the quality of the service before working with them . If they are churning through many application essays without getting to know the students they are helping, you could end up with an over-edited essay that sounds just like everyone else's. In the worst case scenario, an unscrupulous service could send you back a plagiarized essay.

Getting recommendations from friends or a school counselor for reputable services is key to avoiding heavy-handed editing that writes essays for you or does too much to change your essay. Including a badly-edited essay like this in your application could cause problems if there are inconsistencies. For example, in interviews it might be clear you didn't write the essay, or the skill of the essay might not be reflected in your schoolwork and test scores.

Should You Buy an Essay Written by Someone Else?

Let me elaborate. There are super sketchy places on the internet where you can simply buy a pre-written essay. Don't do this!

For one thing, you'll be lying on an official, signed document. All college applications make you sign a statement saying something like this:

I certify that all information submitted in the admission process—including the application, the personal essay, any supplements, and any other supporting materials—is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented... I understand that I may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation, expulsion, or revocation of course credit, grades, and degree, should the information I have certified be false. (From the Common Application )

For another thing, if your academic record doesn't match the essay's quality, the admissions officer will start thinking your whole application is riddled with lies.

Admission officers have full access to your writing portion of the SAT or ACT so that they can compare work that was done in proctored conditions with that done at home. They can tell if these were written by different people. Not only that, but there are now a number of search engines that faculty and admission officers can use to see if an essay contains strings of words that have appeared in other essays—you have no guarantee that the essay you bought wasn't also bought by 50 other students.

• You should get college essay help with both editing and proofreading
• A good editor will ask questions about your idea, logic, and structure, and will point out places where clarity is needed
• A good editor will absolutely not answer these questions, give you their own ideas, or write the essay or parts of the essay for you
• A good proofreader will find typos and check your formatting
• All of them agree that getting light editing and proofreading is necessary
• Parents, teachers, guidance or college counselor, and peers or siblings
• If you can't ask any of those, you can pay for college essay help, but watch out for services or coaches who over-edit you work
• Don't buy a pre-written essay! Colleges can tell, and it'll make your whole application sound false.

Ready to start working on your essay? Check out our explanation of the point of the personal essay and the role it plays on your applications and then explore our step-by-step guide to writing a great college essay .

Using the Common Application for your college applications? We have an excellent guide to the Common App essay prompts and useful advice on how to pick the Common App prompt that's right for you . Wondering how other people tackled these prompts? Then work through our roundup of over 130 real college essay examples published by colleges .

Stressed about whether to take the SAT again before submitting your application? Let us help you decide how many times to take this test . If you choose to go for it, we have the ultimate guide to studying for the SAT to give you the ins and outs of the best ways to study.

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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College Application Checklist

Find the right college for you., junior summer: ─do before applying to college checklist.

• Set up a professional-sounding email address.
• Create a balanced list of reach, match, and safety colleges.
• Go to the application website.
• Note the regular application deadline.
• Note the early application deadline.

Junior Year: Take Tests and Other Exams for Admission

• Find out if an admission test is required.
• Take an admission test, if required.
• Take other required or recommended tests (e.g., AP Exams, IB exams).
• Send admission test scores, if required, with your application.
• Send other test scores.
• Retest by summer of junior year or fall of senior year.

Early Senior Year: Get Letters and Essay Ready.

• Request recommendation letters. Provide a résumé for reference.
• Send thank-you notes to recommendation writers.
• Start the essay drafting and revision process 2 months prior to the application deadline.
• Draft initial essay.
• Proofread essay for spelling and grammar.
• Have 2 people read your essay.
• Revise your essay.
• Proofread your revision.

Fall of Senior Year: Make a Campus Visit. Apply for Financial Aid.

• Interview at the college campus, if required.
• Submit FAFSA® if eligible.
• Submit CSS PROFILE if needed.
• Make a note of the priority financial aid deadline.
• Make a note of the regular financial aid deadline.
• Submit college aid form if needed.
• Submit a state aid form if needed.
• Check the college's financial aid website to see if you need to submit any additional institution forms.

Submit the Application. Pay Fees by Deadlines.

• Complete college application.
• Save copies of your application and application materials.
• Pay application fee. Submit an application fee waiver if eligible.
• Submit application.
• Request high school transcript to be sent.
• Request midyear grade report to be sent.
• Confirm receipt of application materials by checking your application status online.
• Send additional material if needed.
• Tell your school counselor that you applied.
• Receive letter from admissions office.

Senior Spring: Make Your Selections.

• Apply for housing and meal plans, if applicable.
• Receive financial aid award letter.
• Accept financial aid offer.
• Notify whichever colleges you’re not planning to attend.

What things do you need to provide in the college application process?

When applying to college, you’ll need to provide information regarding personal details, your academic background, your extracurricular activities, and achievements you want to highlight. You’ll also need to submit standardized test scores and letters of recommendation, if required. Along with that, you’ll want to submit any required essays, making sure they highlight your aspirations and your personality. You can even strengthen your application by including additional information about yourself and a résumé.

Most colleges will require an application fee. If you require financial assistance to cover this fee, ask your school counselor about application fee waivers.

What are five things you need to know about college application process?

When navigating college admissions requirements, consider these five points:

• Go through each college's admissions requirements, including transcripts, test scores, essays, and recommendations.
• Pay close attention to submission deadlines to ensure you deliver all required documents on time.
• Familiarize yourself with the admissions criteria, including academic performance, extracurricular activities, and personal attributes.
• Check out the available financial aid options, such as scholarships and grants. Follow the designated application timelines.
• Visit the colleges you're interested in. Take advantage of any interview opportunities to express your interest and gain valuable insights into the institutions.

Is the admissions process the same for all colleges?

The admissions process can differ between institutions. Colleges you apply to may ask for standardized test scores and recommendation letters. Or they may have more specific requirements. Before you even begin an application, you’ll need to review the admissions guidelines of each college you plan to apply to and personalize your application to their needs.

How important are extracurricular activities in the college admissions process?

Participating in extracurricular activities can significantly influence the college admissions process. Colleges seek students who aren’t only academically accomplished but also have a diverse range of interests and a demonstrated dedication to their passions. Being actively involved in clubs, sports, community service, and leadership roles can positively impact your application and highlight your potential contributions to the college community.

Are interviews required for college admission? How should I prepare for them?

Colleges may require interviews as part of their admissions process, or they may not require them. You’ll want to verify the specific requirements of each college. If a college recommends an interview or it’s mandatory, make sure to prepare yourself thoroughly. Practice answering common interview questions, research the college, and think about how to express your objectives and interests effectively. Interviews offer a chance to present yourself in a more personal and engaging way, so take advantage of this opportunity.

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A first-generation college student’s guide to navigating the application process.

Senior Associate, JPMorgan Chase

If you’re the first person in your immediate family who’ll be attending college, you may be on your way to becoming a first-generation college student. While this may feel intimidating, know that you aren’t alone. According to recent data by the Center for First-Generation Student Success, about one in four college students have parents who didn’t attend any form of schooling after high school.

Being the first person in your family to attend college is an outstanding achievement. Not only will you be furthering your education, but you’ll also set yourself up for future career success . While you don’t need a college degree to land a job, some estimates show that having a bachelor’s degree may help you earn 84% more than having only a high school diploma . A college degree may also serve as a buffer during an economic downturn.

Understanding the benefits of college is one thing, but navigating applying and enrolling in college as a first-generation college student is another. How do you get started on your college application journey and ensure your transition is a successful one?

Keep reading as we break down the college application process for first-generation college students and provide resources that may help you on your journey.

What’s a first-generation college student?

First things first, what’s a first-generation college student? According to the federal government, a first-generation college student is someone whose parents did not complete a bachelor's degree or some kind of higher education. In a scenario in which you only lived with one parent your whole life who cared financially for you (and this could be for many reasons), and this parent didn’t complete a bachelor’s degree, and you end up attending college, you too count as a first-generation college student under this definition. This definition is important to understand because the federal government uses it to determine eligibility for financial aid programs like the TRIO programs, for instance.

The definition of what a first-generation college student is may vary among colleges and universities, though. For instance, the University of Pennsylvania definition includes students whose parents received a degree outside of the U.S.

Given that institutions define first-generation student differently and offer benefits and resources to first-generation students specifically, you may want to check with college and university admissions offices during the application process to see if you qualify as a first-generation student, according to their unique standards.

How to apply to college as a first-generation student

The college application process may feel daunting, especially if you don’t have parents or immediate family who’ve attended college to guide you. During the process, you’ll have to research colleges, study for standardized exams, fill out school applications, potentially apply for financial aid, and decide where to attend. Fortunately, many resources are at your disposal to make these responsibilities easier.

Checklist for first-generation college students applying to college

Here’s a list that may help you prepare for college applications.

1. Start preparing early (like in your sophomore year of high school)

• Research potential colleges and universities to understand their offerings, campus culture, and admissions requirements.
• Identify the type of college experience you want (size, location, majors, extracurriculars).

2. Understand the academic requirements you need to meet

• Understand your target schools’ grade point average (GPA) and standardized test score requirements.
• Consider meeting with your high school academic advisor and college counselor often to ensure you’re enrolled in the right classes and overall tracking toward your goal of attending college.

3. Prepare for standardized tests

• Register for the SAT or ACT exams and check if your desired schools require or recommend taking them.
• Prepare for these exams using online resources, books, or classes.

4. Research and apply for financial aid and scholarships

• Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA ® ) to determine if you're eligible for federal financial aid along with other types of financial aid.
• Consider researching and applying for scholarships. Consider looking for those that specifically support first-generation students (see below for tips for this).

5. If you’re able to, plan college visits

• Schedule campus visits if it’s feasible for you to get a feel for the environment and ask questions.
• Attend college fairs in your area and meet with college admissions representatives.

6. Tee up your letters of recommendation

• Identify teachers, counselors, or mentors who can write strong, personal recommendations.
• Request these letters well in advance of deadlines.

7. Prepare your personal statement and essays

• Start brainstorming and drafting your college essays early (see below for tips for this).
• Have teachers, counselors, and others review your essays for feedback.

8. Complete your college applications

• Familiarize yourself with the Common App (which you can use to apply to over 1,000 U.S. colleges) and individual college applications.
• Complete all sections of applications carefully and accurately.

9. Keep track of deadlines to make sure you meet them

• There are many deadlines to keep track of during the college process, including college application deadlines, financial aid deadlines, and scholarships deadlines.
• Consider Early Decision or Early Action applications in which you’d apply to colleges earlier in the process.

10. Utilize all the resources that you can

• Connect with organizations and programs that support first-generation college students.
• Look for mentorship programs at potential colleges and within your community to help with the college process.

11. Undergo interview preparation

• If interviews are required, prepare by practicing with teachers, counselors, or mentors.
• Research common interview questions and think about your responses.

12. Do a final review and submit your applications

• Review all materials for completeness and accuracy.
• Submit applications and confirm receipt with each college.

13. Start preparing to enroll in college

• Prepare for potential waitlist or deferral outcomes that may come from your college applications.
• Accept an offer and complete any necessary steps for enrollment.

First-generation college student essay tips

As covered briefly above, you’ll likely need to write one or several personal essays during the college application process. As a first-generation college student, your college essay is a unique opportunity to showcase your perspectives, experiences, and the obstacles you’ve overcome on your road to college.

You may want to begin by reflecting on your journey — what being the first in your family to attend college means to you, the challenges you’ve faced, and how these experiences have shaped your ambitions and character. By crafting a compelling essay, you may help admissions officers understand your background and the resilience you bring to your educational pursuits.

As you write your essay, you may want to focus on specifics rather than generalities to bring your story to life. Instead of simply stating that you’ve faced challenges, describe a moment that illustrates how you’ve been challenged and how you responded. Remember, the goal is to let college admissions committees see the world through your eyes and appreciate the context of your achievements.

After you have a draft of your essay or essays ready, don’t hesitate to seek feedback from teachers, mentors, and counselors who understand the college application process. They may be able to provide valuable insights into how college admissions officers might perceive your essays. 

First-generation college student scholarship tips

As briefly covered above, alongside the college application process, if you’re looking for financial aid to support your college journey, you may consider looking into scholarships specifically for first-generation college students. Some organizations and nonprofits are specifically seeking to help students like you.

Here are a few scholarships you may consider as a first-generation college student:

• The Thurgood Marshall College Fund and The Sallie Mae Fund Completing The Dream Gap Scholarship
• Esperanza Scholarship Foundation Dollars for Scholars Scholarship
• The National Society of High School Scholars First Generation Scholarship
• EducationDynamics Minority First Generation Scholarship Contest

Programs that support first-generation college students

If the steps involved in applying for college seem overwhelming, the good news is that many programs aim to support first-generation college students on their educational journey. Here are a few.  

College Track Scholar Program

College Track is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students with limited resources achieve their dream of attending college. The organization works with students from the time they’re in ninth grade through college to help them on their journey to receiving a bachelor’s degree.

At the high school level, they help students through academic learning labs, college counseling, and even individualized coaching. When students reach college, the organization helps with career readiness, community building, and financial wellness activities. Finally, they provide early career support in the first two years after a student’s college graduation.

Let’s Get Ready

Let’s Get Ready prioritizes admittance for students who meet specific criteria, such as first-generation college students or students from historically underrepresented communities. It provides students with free college application support with help from peer-led coaches and virtual SAT exam prep courses, and other tools. For those who’d like to seek help from someone who’s been in their shoes, Let’s Get Ready pairs program participants with current college students who act as mentors.

America Needs You

For first-generation students already enrolled in college, America Needs You is a nonprofit organization with a Fellows Program that supports low-income, first-generation college students with resources to help them successfully graduate college, succeed in their careers, and remain competitive in today’s workforce. The Fellows Program helps with internship placements, provides up to $1,000 in grant funding annually, and offers one-on-one mentorship to all enrollees.

Navigating the summer before college starts as a first-generation college student

After you commit to college, you may want to see if any summer orientation programs or bridge programs at your chosen college specifically for first-generation students are available to you before you start school.

Some colleges offer orientation programs that bring together faculty, students, and in some cases, family members to help ensure first-generation students have an easy transition into college life.

If the college you’re enrolling in offers one of these programs, consider taking part. They typically last from between two to four weeks during the summer months. During these programs, you can also ask questions related to everything from picking out classes to navigating dorm life if you plan to live on-campus. You can also start to make college friends.

Final thoughts

If you’re a first-generation student embarking on your college journey, know that it may feel confusing at first, though many resources are available to help. Above all else, as you undergo this journey, you should feel proud that you’re the first in your family to start this path toward higher education. You may inspire many others in your professional and personal circles for years to come.