What should a Brown University application resume include?

For Brown, your application resume should be short, easy to scan, and focused on adding detail that does not already come through clearly in the Common App Activities section. The most useful resume shows impact, commitment, and context rather than just repeating titles.

Include your basic header information, education, and then the sections most relevant to your experience, such as activities, leadership, work experience, research, community engagement, arts, athletics, or family responsibilities. For each entry, give your role, organization, dates, and a concise description with specific contributions, scale, or results. Good details include things like hours per week, weeks per year, whether you founded or expanded something, how many people you served, money raised, events organized, or what you actually produced.

For Brown in particular, it helps when the resume shows intellectual curiosity, initiative, and how you use your time. If you have independent projects, academic interests pursued outside class, publications, coding projects, performances, or unusual responsibilities, those are worth including. Brown values students who are self-directed and engaged across interests, so a resume that shows depth in a few areas and authentic exploration tends to be more useful than a long catalog.

Keep formatting clean: consistent dates, clear section headings, readable font, and no dense paragraphs. Avoid an objective statement, excessive design, and long award descriptions unless the award is uncommon and needs explanation. If an item is already fully explained elsewhere, only keep it if the resume adds something new, like scope, progression, or concrete outcomes.