As soon as you graduate high school, the time will come to apply to colleges. Most colleges require a resume so that they can get an idea of who they are admitting before spending a bunch of money on you. A college resume is different from a typical one. You need not include any personal contact information, like phone number and address, or even your email address. It should be no more than two pages long with no color whatsoever. This may seem like a lot of information to take in, but we are here to help you.
The purpose of this guide is to give college students all the help they need in creating their resume, from how to fill out the information, what goes where, and how it should look. We hope you will take the time to read this guide carefully so that your resume is perfect when you submit it.
To further your knowledge about resumes and help you write an effective college application essay, check out the College Application Essay Guide.
Who Reads College Student Resumes
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College Resumes are usually read by two different people: college professors and college admissions counselors. Professors want to see what you’re good at, your interests, and how much effort you put into your academics. College Admissions Counselors want to know if you are a strong candidate for their school, not only for admission but also for financial aid, and how likely you are to attend on a full-time basis.
The Importance of a College Resume
The college application process involves lots of paperwork. Students are required to submit numerous documents, which is why college applicants need to take extra care to prepare their college resumes. A well-written college resume will impress the admissions officers and increase your chances of getting admitted to the university of your choice. This section will provide you with all the information you need on how to write a college resume, which will help you stand out from the crowd. If you happen to need services of resume consulting you can always get help from professional team at resumeconsulting.org.
The Do’s and Don’ts of a College Student Resume
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The first step in creating a resume is to know what to include and what to leave out. Below are some do and don’ts on how to prepare an effective college student resume.
- Do: Include ALL of your academic information in your college resume. Include your grades and your honors, awards, SAT scores, ACT scores, etc. Doing so will show the admissions officers that you are well-rounded and academically motivated.
- Don’t: Leave out any extracurricular activities. Include all clubs, sports, and other activities you participate in while in high school. Admissions officers are looking for well-rounded students who are active both inside and outside the classroom.
- Don’t: Don’t include personal information, like your email address or phone number. These resumes are sent to those who will be evaluating you for admission to their school. Therefore, do not include any personal information.
- Don’t: Don’t leave out any of your standardized test scores. The scores will show the admissions officers that you are in the top percentile of their class.
Common Mistakes Made in College Student Resumes
Below are some mistakes students make when creating college student resumes
▪ Leaving off all contact information takes away a lot of valuable information. This makes it difficult for the admissions office to contact you in case of questions about your information.
▪ Not including your GPA/ACT/SAT scores can raise some red flags. Without those scores, it can be difficult to know how you stack up against other applicants. In this case, it is important to include all test scores on your college resume.
▪ Choosing to color all of your college student resume sections is a smart decision; however, only if you choose colors that are not too bold or bright. Bold or bright colors won’t make a lasting impression and instead will make the person who is reading it think that you did not take enough time to create an effective resume.
▪ Forgetting to include your class rank can be a huge mistake. It allows the reader to know your average GPA and how that compares against other students.
▪ Spending too much time on formatting and not enough time on content is a mistake many college students make when creating a resume. Make sure that you spend the majority of your time writing the content so that it is easy for any reader to absorb.
The Best Way to Approach a College Student Resume
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When writing your college resume, it is important to approach it from a perspective of professionalism. Your resume should look well-organized and professional and should be easy to read with a clear focus on what you want the reader to learn about you; what will give them useful information they can take away and use in making future decisions regarding your college application.
Creating a college resume should be a time-consuming and somewhat tedious process; nevertheless, if you take extra care to ensure that your resume is well-written, it will go a long way in helping you stand out from the crowd of college applicants.
Before we conclude all of this information about creating a college resume, let’s recap all the TOP 10 most important things to keep in mind when creating your college resume
- Do not forget to provide contact information.
- In your contact information, including your email address, people who are reading your resume may need to reach you.
- Include all academic factors in the resume; GPA, awards, GPA percentiles, etc.
- Make sure to include all extracurricular activities and your class rank.
- When writing the content for your college student resume, take extra time to organize it and ensure that the reader understands what you are trying to convey in all parts of the resume.
- Use professional formatting and do not color bright or bold colors.
- Don’t forget to include your resume in PDF format.
- Make sure that every part of your academic history is reflected in the resume; high school, GPA, SAT scores, college applications, internships, even volunteer work you have done; it all has to be included.
- Spend some extra time writing the content for your resume and choosing an effective font style.
- Remember to go through the most important parts over and over again until you feel that it is right.
Keep in mind that this is not a complete college resume writing guide. This guide will leave you with a lot of areas to consider as you work on your own college student resume. No matter what you do, the most important thing is to make sure that your resume makes you stand out from the crowd of college applicants. Your time and effort will be well-spent on projects that will give you the best chance to get into the ideal college for your ambitions. Hopefully, this guide will help you get started. Thank You!
