How should I list extracurricular activities on the Common App?

List your activities by impact, commitment, and importance to you, not by the order you did them. Put the strongest and most time-intensive items first, because colleges often notice the top of the list most. Use the limited space to emphasize what you actually did, how often you did it, and any concrete results, while combining overlapping roles only when they are truly part of the same work.

On the Common App, prioritize leadership, initiative, sustained involvement, and responsibility. A part-time job should absolutely be included if it took real time and shows reliability, customer service, or financial contribution. Volunteering and clubs can both be strong, but if three entries basically say you attended meetings, that will feel repetitive, so focus each one on a distinct contribution.

For each activity, make the position title and organization clear, then use the description to show action. Start with verbs like led, organized, taught, created, managed, researched, designed, or trained. Numbers help, but only when they are real and useful.

If activities overlap, combine them only if they are genuinely one umbrella experience. For example, if you were in the same nonprofit first as a volunteer and later as a team lead, combining them can show growth. But do not merge unrelated things just to save slots, because that can make the description vague.

It is completely fine to list fewer if the remaining activities are minor. Also be accurate with hours per week and weeks per year, especially for seasonal activities or jobs that changed over time.