Last Updated on October 1, 2026
Quick answer: To show a passion project on the Common App, list it in the Activities section with your role and specific results, expand on it in your personal essay or a supplemental essay, and use the Additional Information section for context. Admissions officers value projects that show independence, initiative, and lasting commitment.
Everyone has something unique, whether that be an interest or a skill that sets them apart. Admissions officers notice differences among students as they read throughout the college admissions process. At top schools in the United States, admissions officers look for those who get noticed, and for some, all it takes to make a difference in their college admissions is how well they demonstrate their passions. Here’s how to showcase your passion project on the Common Application. [1]
What Are Passion Projects
Passion projects, or “personal projects,” are unique projects that students conduct independently. Similar to extracurricular activities, passion projects offer students opportunities to demonstrate independence, leadership, and a passion for their chosen field. Students can make just about anything into a passion project, but the main draw is making a personal project that serves as the foundation for their college applications.
Since students have complete control over what they accomplish, a personal project works well as the backbone and centerpiece for their college application, upon which all other sections can build. For example, if a student wants to study computer science in college, a good passion project could be developing an app tailored to their niche with the aim of improving their community. For example: “A computer science student with a passion for biomedical engineering creates a phone app that tracks people’s exercises, with all proceeds going to cardiovascular research.”
How Passion Projects Can Improve Your Acceptance Chances
Admissions officers are more selective than ever at the top US schools and Ivy League universities. They consider every aspect of a student’s profile, from their GPA to test scores, extracurriculars, essays, LoR, and even personality and character traits. Admissions officers are looking for applicants who will be solid students and who can contribute to the school’s environment beyond just high marks.[2]
Passion projects allow students to demonstrate all of these aspects favorably to admissions officers, on their own terms. Students can show the results of their initiative, passion, and creativity, not just talk about them in their personal statements.
Having a personal project as evidence of a student’s ability to pursue their interests independently will make an impression on college admissions officers, especially since most students don’t do a personal project at all. It’s a great way to get noticed against the competition.
Passion Project Ideas That Translate Well to Your Application
The passion projects that read best on an application share three traits: they grow out of a genuine interest, they produce something you can point to, and they serve an audience beyond yourself. A few formats that tend to work well:
- Something you build: an app, a website, a device, or a piece of research that solves a specific problem.
- Something you organize: a tutoring program, a community workshop series, or a club that did not exist before you started it.
- Something you create: a podcast, a publication, a film, or a portfolio that shares your perspective with others.
- Something you study: an independent investigation, such as surveying local water quality or analyzing a historical archive in your town.
Whichever format you choose, tie it to the field you plan to study. If you are still at the planning stage, our step-by-step walkthrough on how to do a passion project for college applications covers choosing a topic, setting goals, and measuring results, and these passion project ideas for biology students show what a focused project can look like in one field.
Highlight the Right Section
Once students have the results of their passion projects, they’ll want to properly highlight them in their application.
The Common Application has many sections where students can highlight their activities and projects. The most notable is the Activities section, where students will list their extracurricular activities. There, students can also list their personal projects, their results, who was involved, and more relevant details.
However, students don’t need to limit their passion projects to a single section of the Common Application. As previously stated, the main benefit of passion projects is the foundation they bring to the entire college application. Speak about your project in your supplemental essays, highlight your process and accomplishments in your personal statements, and include extracurricular activities that are not only related to your project but to your field of interest as a whole.
Also, if you have collaborated with others to conduct your passion projects, you can seek out letters of recommendation from them so they can speak firsthand about the project. These letters can come from teachers, mentors, or working professionals. Anyone that you collaborated with can provide valuable insights and will further support your project’s positive impact on your college applications.
How to Describe a Passion Project on the Common App
Space is tight in the Activities section, so every word needs to do work. According to Common App guidance on the activities section, you can list up to ten activities, with 50 characters for your position or leadership role, 100 characters for the organization name, and 150 characters for details, honors, and accomplishments. [1]
To make those characters count:
- Give the project a clear name. Use the organization field for the project’s title and note that it is an independent project.
- Lead with your role. Titles such as founder, director, or lead researcher tell the reader right away that you drove the work.
- Use action verbs and results. Start with what you did, such as designed, launched, or recruited, and end with a concrete outcome, such as the number of people served or a partnership formed.
- Cut what is reported elsewhere. Hours per week and weeks per year have their own fields, so do not repeat them in the description.
- Place it near the top. If the project is central to your application, list it among your first few activities so readers see it early.
If your project needs more context than 150 characters allow, the Common App suggests using the Additional Information question in the Writing section. [1] Keep that entry brief and factual, and review our tips on the Common App Additional Information section before you write it. For more help with the rest of your list, see how to build a Common App activities list that reads like evidence.
Showcase Your Leadership Impact and Personal Development
One of the main aspects of a personal project, and a trait that is especially important for high schoolers and college admissions officers at the top US universities, is leadership. Effective leadership is often seen as the missing piece in college applications, and selective colleges such as MIT say they look for initiative and a collaborative spirit. [3] So, throughout your college applications, be sure to highlight not only the project itself but also how it displays your problem-solving abilities, the impact you had on others, and the growth it fostered throughout your schooling. So, it’s a good idea when applying for college to mention leadership positions or any role in which you were a team member that contributed to any leadership initiatives or leadership skills.
Use your project as an opportunity to reflect on your personal development in sections like personal statements. Conducting a passion project could also help students find compelling topics for their supplemental essays.
The passion project itself is not as important as what it tells the admissions officers about the student’s character. Throughout your projects and high school, think back to the times you were challenged, how you changed and developed as a result of adversity, and speak on your future aspirations and how your experiences have prepared you for your course of study and the professional paths you mean to follow.
To learn more about leadership roles, listen to our podcast episode 72, “Leadership: The Missing Link in College Admissions.”
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Showcasing your passion and interests in your college application process can make a big difference in how college admissions officers see you as a student. But there is a way to craft your Common Application application optimally to enhance your chances.
To learn more about the Common App, best practices for high school students, and how to strategize your time in high school to have the best chances of acceptance into your top-choice school, see InGenius Prep’s Application Counseling Program, where our team of Former Admissions Officers from the top US schools advise you on what to do to make you the best candidate on your college applications. Our experts are here to help students who are still wondering how to put personal projects on the Common App.
Visit the Leadership and Innovation Lab for more about passion projects, summer programs, and methods for making a difference in your school and community.
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