How to Write the Common App Activities List

By the Acceptly team·July 3, 2026· 6 min read

A person writing notes while researching online courses on a laptop in a home setting. — Photo: ROMAN ODINTSOV / Pexels

You get about 150 characters per activity. Used well, that tiny space can do more for your application than a whole extra essay.

The activities list is easy to rush and easy to underuse. You have ten slots and roughly 150 characters each to describe what you did. That is not much room, which is exactly why every word has to work. Readers spend real time here, so treat it like writing, not like filling in a form.

Lead with strong verbs and real impact

Start each description with an action verb and get to the result fast. Compare founded, led, and built to was a member of and helped with. The first set shows initiative and outcome. The second wastes characters. Where you can, point to something concrete: a number, a change, a thing that exists because of you.

Led becomes stronger with a result: led a team of 12 that raised funds for a local shelter.
Cut filler words like responsible for and participated in. Space is precious.
Use recognizable shorthand and drop articles to save characters, since fragments are fine here.

Order matters

Put your most important, most time-intensive activities first. The order signals your priorities, and readers may not weigh every line equally. Lead with the commitments that show depth and initiative, not the ones that merely sound prestigious.

Unpaid responsibilities count. A job, caring for siblings, or helping run a family business belongs on this list, and readers respect it. Do not leave real work off because it does not look like a traditional extracurricular.

Be honest about hours and weeks

The form asks how many hours per week and weeks per year you spend on each activity. Estimate honestly. Wildly inflated numbers stand out to experienced readers and can quietly undermine the trust the rest of your application is trying to build.

Activities List Common App Application Materials

This article is general guidance, not professional counseling, and it does not guarantee any outcome. Requirements, deadlines, and prompts change, so always confirm the details on each school's official website before you rely on them.