How to Write a College Resume (+ Templates)

“I wasn’t accepted by my first college pick. My college application simply missed the mark. If only I’d known then what I know now! I’d have gotten into Harvard, Princeton, or any school I wanted.”

You don’t have to make the same mistake. With our dedicated college resume template and simple instructions, you’ll write a high school resume for college that paves the way for your future success.

This college resume guide will show you:

• A college resume template suited for high school graduates.
• How important is the resume for college application, and how to write one.
• Tips and examples on how to craft the best high school resume for college and get admitted to the most prestigious schools.

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.

Use this resume template

Sample College Application Resume—See more resume examples here.

Wondering if you need a resume for college application? Here’s why to take it seriously:

How Important Is Your Resume for College Application?

While it is not always required to attach a resume to a college application, it can be a valuable component. Some institutions might even prefer receiving a traditional resume over a conventional application form.

A well-crafted resume for college application gives a full view of your academic achievements, extracurricular activities, internships, and awards. Through a resume, you can emphasize your unique skills, passions, or any other qualifications or achievements that can’t be fitted into an online application form, an essay, or a letter of recommendation.

How to find the right college resume template? Just pick one of our dedicated resume templates and follow the advice from this guide.

That’s three. But there’s more where that came from! The Zety resume builder features 20 templates that make great college resumes. Simply pick a resume template and build a college resume here.

That’s just three, but Zety resume builder features multiple templates that make great college resumes. See more professional resume templates and build your resume straight away.

Convinced enough to write one? Let’s get started!

High-School Resume For a College Application Example

1. Format Your College Resume Template The Right Way

Remember that one colleague who got an F due to illegible writing? Don’t make the same mistake. You can have the best college admissions resume in the world, but if it’s poorly formatted, it’s very likely that it won’t even be read.

Here’s a handful of tips to make your high school resume for college easy to look at:

• Start with the reverse-chronological resume format that displays your most recent achievements at the top.
• Use big headings and plenty of white space. That’ll show your resume strengths fast.
• Apply the best resume fonts. Calibri, Cambria, or Georgia are amongst the most recommended ones.
• Strive for the ideal resume length, which is one page.
• Save your high school resume for college as a PDF to keep it clean and well-formatted.

Considering alternative college resume formats? See our guide: Best Resume Format: How to Format Your Resume Right

2. Add Contact Details to Your Resume for College Application

Getting started with your college resume is quick and easy. All it takes is to fill in your contact details section, so the admission officer can proceed with your application. The brief below shows how to tackle it.

Your resume’s contact information section should have:

• Full Name and Address
• Updated Phone Number
• Professional Email Address

Like so:

College Application Resume: Examples of Contact Information

Don't forget to add a LinkedIn profile or a personal website if you have one. They add extra value to your resume, but only if you refine them and make them look professional.

Pro Tip: If you’re reading this and don’t have a LinkedIn profile, it’s not too late. Just use our guide to LinkedIn magic here.

3. Start With the Perfect College Resume Objective

How does an admissions department read 30,000+ applications? They don’t. They skim your resume in less than 10 seconds, according to our HR statistics report.

The good news is that if your resume objective is great, they will likely read the rest.

Check out these two college admission resume objective examples:

College Application Resume Examples [Resume Objectives]

This one doesn’t put the applicant in the best light, though it shows some of their passions. See a better example instead:

The second one shows a passionate individual who’s at the start of a professional career but already has some impressive achievements to show off. This is, among other things, what admission officers look for when flipping through college applications.

Including a captivating introduction to your CV is key as it decides if a recruiter will continue reading your application. See more examples of how to start a CV the way it grabs attention.

4. Make The Education Section in Your College Resume Powerful

Does education matter on a high school resume for college? Ask no more. There’s no better way to highlight your high school experience and the good grades that you have on your record.

Here’s what to include in your education section:

• High school name and location
• GPA score
• Graduation date (past or future)

 But don’t just stop there. Add relevant achievements, like in the example below:

College Resume Examples [Education]

That’s not a basic applicant. It is someone with leadership abilities, communication skills, and a strong work ethic.

For comparison, don’t just write about your education like in the next of our college resume examples:

It doesn’t tell much about your involvement. It just says you attended a particular school and finished with a certain GPA. But that’s what the majority of applicants do. Be different and mention some remarkable activities and accomplishments you can be proud of.

Use the education section on your high school resume for college to impress the dean. See our guide: How to Put Your Education on a Resume

5. Show Your Experience on a Resume for College

You made it this far. You’ve got a good start on your college resume objective, activities, and education. But, as a college applicant, you might need to put your work experience on a resume for college applications, too.

Look at these two sample work experience sections:

College Application Resume Examples [Experience]

See, it doesn’t only show you had a job. It shows qualities that matter to admissions officers, like work ethic and interpersonal skills.

In turn, you shouldn’t approach your work experience section like this:

A good college resume template requires relevant achievements. Don’t just list your regular duties. However, add only 3–5 resume bullet points to your work experience section. 

Make your resume for college applications fun to read with action words. See our guide: 300+ Resume Action Words & Power Words

6. Recall Impressive Activities on a College Resume

Remember the candidate who didn’t get into their first-choice school? They wish they had a do-over. You’re right before your first attempt, so roll up your sleeves, and do the best you can.

Improve your college application resume with a selection of activities, hobbies, and interests. Don’t put in your resume things like “I was on the swim team” or “I like reading.” Write “Co-captain in a varsity swim team” or “Read 100+ books about science within the last three years” instead.

This college resume example shows how:

College Application Resume Examples [Activities]

Don’t list every achievement at random. Focus on the ones that match the school. For instance, if you apply to a top computer science school, show CS achievements first on your high school resume for college.

Trying to get into Harvard Business School? Your college resume should highlight leadership skills and accomplishments.

Just don’t do it like most applicants. Avoid writing your college resume using the following tone:

That sample resume for college application will barely make it through the door. Take the time to look into your past. Think about what you have achieved and how to showcase it most effectively.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

Create my resume now

When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.

7. Highlight Your Unique Skills in a Resume for College

You have exactly what it takes to succeed. But it does matter how you prove you’ll be a great contribution to their college. First, know what skills admissions officers value. Next, highlight them on your college resume.

Let’s say you’re applying to a business school that values leadership and literacy. You could just list your skills, like the next of our college applicant resume examples:

College Admission Resume Examples [Skills]

But put yourself in the admissions officer’s shoes. They’ll think, “This applicant is telling me what I want to hear.”

Prove your skills using bullet points instead:

This one sounds much more impressive. Don’t you know what skills to put on your resume for college application? Worry not, we’ve made a quick list of soft and hard skills just right for college applicants:

List of Skills to Put on a College Resume

Soft Skills

• Strong Work Ethic
• Communication
• Time Management
• Collaboration Skills
• Fast Learner
• Self-Motivated
• Interpersonal Skills
• Listening
• Problem-Solving

Hard Skills

• Computer Skills
• Tech Skills
• MS Office
• Math
• Science
• Physics
• History
• Programming
• Social Media 
• Public Speaking

Pro Tip: Don’t just use skills from our list. Think what skills fit the school best. A customized college resume will beat a generic option any day.

8. Add Extra Sections to Your College Resume Template

While a professional resume emphasizes work experience and qualifications, a college resume focuses mostly on extracurricular activities and achievements. That’s why you must fill your resume with the right details describing your unique passions, talents, and interests.

Here are some suggestions of what to put on a resume for college:

• Awards & Recognition: List competitions (essay, speaking, spelling, storytelling, art) or perfect attendance.
• Teen Jobs: Use part-time or summer gigs to show your work ethic.
• Volunteer Work: Bake sales, GoFundMe projects, hours logged at Goodwill, or other work you did for free.
• Social Media Followings: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Have you built up an impressive following? Show it!
• Personal Projects: Websites built, art portfolios or shows, or public service projects. Anything you put your heart into can look good on a high school resume for college.
• Sports: List varsity teams or captainships. Show track, football, LaCrosse, powerlifting, soccer, baseball, or other sports.
• Leadership Positions: Are you an Eagle Scout? 4-H member? Official or unofficial clubs or groups can bolster college resumes.
• Language Skills: If you’re fluent in French, Spanish, German, or any other language, show it.

Pro Tip: Use details. Don’t just say: Eagle Scout. Say: Eagle Scout with 200+ hours of community service. For Eagle Project, raised $3,000 for the homeless.

9. Write a Compelling College Cover Letter

You have your resume for a college ready. Do you need anything else? Well, yes. Even if the admission office says that the cover letter is optional, it’s better if you send it over, too. In fact, they’ll be pleasantly surprised to receive it.

But don’t worry, it won’t take as long as that one essay you wrote a couple of months ago. Keep in mind the following tips, and you’ll create a cover letter sooner than you think:

• Make it personal by using the dean’s name.
• Say why this school is so important to you.
• Show what you have to offer.
• End your cover letter on a positive note: I'd appreciate the opportunity to discuss how I can enrich the student body at Elon University.
• If you apply for various colleges, tailor your letters to particular institutions. Plus, use a college application checklist to ensure you don’t forget a thing.

Pro Tip: Always follow up on a college application resume and cover letter. An email or letter in a week or two works best.

Trying to get into a specific school? See these guides:

• Resume for Graduate School
• Resume for Medical School
• Medical Student CV
• Resume for Law School
• Resume for MBA

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

Create my cover letter now

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key Takeaway

Here’s a recap of how to write a resume for college admissions:

• Put on your thinking cap. You have tons of flashy achievements for a resume for college applications. You just need to do the thinking time.
• Customize your college application resume. Your experience and education bullet points should prove you’ve got the skills to make it through.
• Write your college resume objective last. Stuff it with your best achievements to make the admissions officer stop resting his eyes.
• Make a cover letter. College admission resumes with cover letters have a higher chance of moving up the food chain.

Do you have questions on how to make a great resume for college? Not sure how to describe your skills or achievements? Give us a shout in the comments! Let's get you in your dream school!

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