Activity essays

Activity prompts ask you to go deeper on one thing from your activities list. The list already gives the facts: the role, the hours, the years. The essay's job is everything the list can't hold. Why you kept showing up. What you did that nobody assigned. What you learned to do badly and then well.

Pick the activity that tells the reader something new about you, not necessarily your most impressive one. A part-time job, a family responsibility or a hobby you've stuck with for years can carry this essay as well as a team captaincy.

Write about a moment, not a season. “I organized the fundraiser” is the list again. “The night before, the venue canceled” is an essay. At 150 words you have room for one scene and one sentence about what it meant. Use both.