Sports has been a HUGE part of my high school life (I'm on the varsity soccer team) and I'm starting to fill out my Common App. How can I describe this in a way that stands out? Should I play up the teamwork, discipline, or the commitment? Would love some insights from others who have tackled this!
Hey there! It's fantastic that you've dedicated so much to soccer. When representing it on your Common App, try to go beyond the basic descriptors. Talk about specific instances where you displayed leadership or resilience. Maybe you helped to organize team building activities, or you played a critical role in a turning point game.
In terms of which particular skills you highlight, that's really up to you. The more, the better, but obviously your space is limited in your activities list. So, ask yourself honestly what the very most important skills you've taken away from soccer are, and highlight those. You may have to leave some out, which is certainly frustrating, but unfortunately hard word/character counts are just a fact of life in college applications.
Additionally, colleges love to see the concrete impact you’ve made through your involvement, so quantify your achievements if you can, like 'led team to a regional championship' or 'mentored 5 junior team members for leadership roles.' Remember, it's not just the sport that's important but what you've learned and how it's shaped you.
If you feel like the activities list isn't sufficient to fully flesh out your involvement in soccer, you could write an "extracurricular" supplemental essay about it, if any of your schools have this kind of essay (you can read more about it on CollegeVine's blog: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-write-most-important-extracurricular-supplement-essays/). You could even write your personal statement about it, but if you do so, make sure you take a unique angle rather than just rehashing the age-old sports story, as that's an overused trope in college admissions (you can read more about why on CollegeVine's blog post on cliche essay topics: https://blog.collegevine.com/cliche-college-essay-topics).
Whether in your activities list, essays, or both, highlight any unique aspect of your soccer experience that shows your personal growth and what you'll bring to the college team or community. Good luck, and kick it out of the park with your application!
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