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How to Write a Brag Sheet

As you start working on your college applications, you’ll learn that letters of recommendation from your counselor make up an important component of the process to distinguish you from your classmates. When you attend a big high school and your counselor has to write them for nearly a hundred students per year, how can you make sure they can talk about you positively and concretely enough to help you stand out to admissions officers? This is where brag sheets come in handy.

Many schools ask for a brag sheet - either from a student, parent, or both, and the formats can vary. Parents usually have to answer questions about their child in a way that serves as an accurate reflection of their child’s strength areas. The student version of the brag sheet is typically similar to a resumé, asking for a list of academic and extracurricular involvements, along with any accomplishments that can help the recommenders write about the candidate in a positive light. If your school requires a brag sheet, you’ll either be provided with the form or you’ll have to start one from scratch. I’ve divided this blog into two parts - one to guide parents through the filling out process, and one for students themselves. 

Brag Sheet Guide for Parents

Schools that require a brag sheet often ask that parents fill it out in order to help the counselor get to know the student better. If you need to complete one, chances are you’re inclined to say only good things about your child. And you should take this time to share the best of the best! But be strategic about your tone.

Tone of the Brag Sheet

It might be difficult for you to hold back on the brag sheet, as you understandably want your child’s greatest qualities to shine. There can be a lot of pressure, feeling like this is your one chance to make the letter strong or that you have to squeeze all of your child’s characteristics into one form. 

Be honest, but don’t exaggerate. While you should take the opportunity to share wonderful facts about your child, avoid arrogant or impractical statements. 

Include specific details about what separates your child’s achievements from other applicants. This will set your brag sheet apart, and provide concrete content for your child’s counselor to discuss. For instance saying “Jack has committed to his interest in journalism throughout high school. His piece on XYZ played a prominent role in helping the school newspaper gain over 4,000 online readers a month. He is currently working on a documentary about our neighborhood,” would provide a far clearer picture of a student’s love for journalism than just saying, “Jack is good at writing.”

For questions that ask you to talk about flaws or weaknesses, be honest, but keep the tone positive and show how your child has grown. That said, don’t say anything that reads as completely over the top. Sentences such as “my daughter is the most outstanding singer the entire country as ever seen – she’s the next Madonna!” will only make eyes roll.

Common Questions on a Brag Sheet

Below I’ve gone over some common questions that brag sheets ask parents and how to best answer them. If your child’s school expects you to create your own brag sheet, you can use these prompts to guide your creation. For all of these responses, remember to back up your points with specific anecdotes. 

How to Answer the Different Questions on a Parent Brag Sheet

Question 1

What has been your student’s greatest accomplishments in the past 3-4 years? Why? 

This is often the first question on the parent brag sheet - counselors want to know what your child has achieved in high school, and why you view these as the standout accomplishments over others. When writing this response, remember that it’s not always just leadership positions or awards that count as achievements, but the process of getting there. If your child started high school as a very shy student with terrible stage fright and is now an award-winning public speaker, that circumstance demands that you go into greater detail about their hard work, determination, and strength in getting over their fear. 

You don’t just have to talk about academic or extracurricular success either – you could focus on a point of growth in their character or the way they stepped up for household responsibilities. No matter what you view as the greatest achievements, use particular examples so that the counselor can understand where you’re coming from and to talk concretely about traits that make your student unique in their letter.

Question 2

In what ways has your student grown and matured across their time in high school?

While similar to the last question, this one focuses less on accomplishments and more on growth. This could range from your student taking on a difficult course load during junior year, to finding ways to stay organized and balance getting enough sleep while still impressing with extracurriculars and schoolwork. Again, maturity can indicate development both inside and outside the classroom. Answering this question with examples of meaningful experiences enables the recommender to understand ways that the student has developed as an individual and the characteristics that can help them excel in college.

Question 3

Which 5 words best describe your child?

This is a question that students often encounter in supplemental essays. Just like I’d advise them to think carefully about their responses and try to stay away from common answers, I suggest that you do the same here. Anyone can say that their child is “athletic” or “smart.” Go beyond that, in a way that even one word can provide the counselor with a bigger picture of what the individual is like. For example, instead of saying “positive,” or “optimistic” which I’m sure many parents will use, you can say “glass-half-full.” Instead of “generous,” you can say “community-oriented.” Ask yourself whether your choice of words will seem vague to the reader. Sometimes, the prompt also asks you to elaborate on your choices - again, be specific as possible.

Question 4

Have there been any unusual circumstances affecting your child’s educational or personal experience?

Colleges often ask applicants to fill out whether any extenuating circumstances have impacted their academic performance, and this question in a brag sheet allows for you to let the counselor know whether there’s something that should be mentioned. If there was an untimely death in the family that caused the student to miss several days of school or an illness that hurt their GPA, this is the place to contextualize how the circumstance affected the student. Don’t exaggerate here, as many other families might have faced very serious challenges. If there’s nothing that applies, it’s more than okay to leave this response blank! 

Question 5

Is there anything else you would like to share?

This question should be taken advantage of if you believe there’s something that you haven’t answered in the other questions, such as describing a side of them that isn’t immediately reflected through their activities list or courses. It could be a personality trait such as an admirable commitment to their friendships (again, needs to be supported by examples) or it could focus on a quirky hobby that they might be involved in that isn’t common for other kids. Make sure you don’t repeat anything you’ve already listed, as the counselor has many of these documents to read.

Brag Sheet Guide for Students

The brag sheets that schools ask students to fill out instead of parents may or may not ask the above questions. These may also be a form where you have to fill in blanks that are more straightforward and resemble questions that you might be asked on the Common App. Although most come with pre-assigned sections such as “Extracurriculars” or “Honors,” if you’re asked to write a brag sheet from scratch, you can still use the following format and create yours. 

While it’s mainly written to help your guidance counselor, any time you need a recommendation from a teacher, supervisor, or coach, you can also hand them the brag sheet so that they know about all of the things that you’ve achieved. Let’s take a closer look at the different sections brag sheets typically contain.

The Basics 

To start off the brag sheet, you may be asked obvious questions such as name, date of birth, and contact information. Some might even inquire about your family - whether you live with both of your parents, what they do for a living, and whether you have any siblings. Most of this exists to provide more context on who you are to the counselor - some schools also use this section to ask about your SAT/ACT score, GPA, and list of courses you’re taking. If you’re enrolled in any AP classes, include them here so your recommender can attest to the way you’ve pushed yourself in the classroom. 

Extracurricular Experiences

This is where you talk about how you’ve spent your time outside of classes starting from the 9th grade. Just like you’ll have to do in the Common App, make sure that you prioritize your leadership positions and any initiatives that you’ve started. Your counselor will use this portion to grasp your engagement with your school or neighborhood community, and can go off these examples to talk about how you would contribute to a college campus. 

Add a line or two about what you do as part of each role. Remember that it is called a brag sheet - so you want to emphasize how you’ve stepped up as a leader in your different activities. Your recommenders can also benefit from knowing whether you’ve been active for a long period of time, so adding the year you started an activity can help reflect your commitment.

Some schools, especially those big on sports may include a separate section for athletics, and inquire about whether you’ve been on any teams and how many years you’ve been involved. If your school’s brag sheet doesn’t ask so, you can talk about your athletic involvement in this section.

Honors and Awards

Next, you should list the honors that you’ve received during your time in high school. This could be academic, athletic, or extracurricular. The award could be related to your prospective major in college, but it could also be for outstanding community service. Again, describe the achievement in a few words so that the reader can gauge the reason behind your recognition. As for order, think about which honors are the most impressive and include those first.

Work Experiences

If you’ve had a job in high school, mention it on your brag sheet, briefly describing your role, job responsibilities, as well as specifying how long you’ve been working and whether the position is paid. No matter what the job is, it is worth including, as colleges value students taking up responsibility and picking up different skills. Your counselor might want to relay this information so that the admissions officers can gain a sense of your maturity and dependability. 

List of Colleges

Then, it’s time to inform your counselor about where you’re applying. If your brag sheet comes with pre-assigned questions, this might ask what your top 3 or top 5 choices are. You should also mention here what you’re looking at as your major. If there’s space, you can briefly talk about why you’ve got your eyes on particular schools so that the counselor can get a sense of your interests, goals, along with what you’re looking for out of your time in undergrad.

Other Sections

Alongside the above, students and parents may also encounter the following questions in their brag sheet:

• Describe an academic experience that has strongly influenced you in high school.
• What is your greatest strength as a student and a person?
• Have you participated in community service? What has been your takeaway from the experience?
• What is the best advice you have ever received?
• Describe your learning style. Tell us the type of college environment that you think will bring out the best in you as a student and as a person.
• Describe the subjects or teaching style that is most challenging for you. Explain what you do to meet these challenges.
• Tell us what your friends would say are your three most admirable qualities. Explain each in several sentences or give examples of how you have demonstrated these traits.
• Tell us what you think a teacher who knows you well would say are your three most admirable qualities. Explain each in several sentences or give examples of how you have demonstrated these traits.
• Tell us what you hope to accomplish in college and after. Consider both your career and broader goals.

Additional Information

Finally, similar to the last two questions on the parent brag sheet, a student one may also ask if there’s any circumstance that’s affected your performance in high school or whether or not there’s something else you want to share (if you’re creating your own template, you can add such as section if applicable). Think about what your counselor would want to know that they could then use for their letters. You may include a hobby that is unique or a life change that affected your performance in school. Use your discretion of course. If you believe nothing is relevant here, you don’t need this section!

Writing a brag sheet might be confusing, especially if you aren’t given much of a starting point. But whether you are writing for your child or you’re a student who’s about to apply to college, think about what you want your counselor to pass on to colleges. Regardless of whether the form comes with preset prompts or not, consider what the student brings that most of their classmates don’t. As for tone, it’s all about being honest and humble, while still bringing out the positives. You've got this!