By Lindsey Kundel, Editor in Chief, InGenius Prep
The Most Overlooked Two Minutes in Admissions
Ten lines. 150 characters each. That’s all the Common App gives you to capture four years of your life outside the classroom. Most students treat the college application Activities List like an afterthought — something to fill in quickly after the essays are done. But for admissions officers, it’s the “two-minute test”: a compressed snapshot of your impact, your trajectory, and whether you’ll stand out in their community.
At the Ivy League and Top 30 level, everyone looks accomplished on paper. Leadership titles, academic awards, strong recommendations — they’re all a given. The real question becomes: what sets you apart when you only have seconds to make an impression?
As former Harvard admissions officer recently explained, elite schools are looking for unique and impactful extracurricular activities:
“Academic results ‘are kind of a given’ for top institutions, so admissions officers look at who students are as a person. ‘It really tends to be everything else that makes their application more compelling — so their extracurriculars.’ These admissions officers are building a community; they’re not just building a classroom.”
Research backs that up. AdmitReport has shown that admissions readers score activities based on magnitude and impact, not just participation. And NACAC’s State of College Admission Report emphasizes that extracurricular activities often tip the scales when academic records are similar.
So the Activities List isn’t paperwork. It’s strategy. And if you’re aiming for the Ivy League or Top 30, that strategy can make the difference between blending in and standing out.
What Admissions Officers Actually See
When admissions officers skim this section, they’re scanning for three things:
- Impact – Did you change something?
- Trajectory – Did you grow, or just show up?
- Fit – Do your activities align with what their school values?
I’ve read countless draft lists that say things like, “President, Debate Club.” That’s not wrong, but it’s forgettable. What makes a difference is adding context: “Led team in first bilingual debate league; expanded access to 200+ students.” Same role, but one description makes the reader sit up and think, Oh, this student built something new.
Admissions officers also check for feasibility. If you claim 40 hours per week in ten different activities, it raises eyebrows. What they want to see is consistency, depth, and growth.
As one of our former admissions officers put it in a recent online training accessible only to our students, “the first place you’re compared is within your high school.” The question is simple: are you a leader in your immediate community? She also reminded students that “sustained involvement is a huge one”—not the “junior joiner” effect, where most activities suddenly start in 11th grade. And the fastest way to prove real impact? “Tangible achievements are really, really important…if you led a club, include how many members; if you raised money, include the amount; if you tutored, tell us how much students improved.”
TRY THIS: Look at your top activity. Does your entry simply list a title, or does it highlight what changed because you were there? Rewrite it with action + context.
Quick formatting win: the Common App gives you 50 characters for Position/Leadership, 100 characters for Organization Name, and 150 characters for Description. Use the Organization Name line to briefly explain unfamiliar orgs so you can “use the description for your impact,” not for defining acronyms.
Depth and Arc > Titles and Awards
Here’s a mistake I often see: students assume that holding a leadership title is enough. But admissions officers are trained to look beyond surface glitter. They don’t want to know that you were president — they want to know what happened because you were president.
Humans remember stories, not static facts. So when you show an arc — Volunteer → Mentor → Founder — you tell a story of growth. That’s far more powerful than listing three disconnected titles.
I’ve seen this play out with student government leaders. One application said: “Student Body President.” Another said: “President, SGA — Organized Night for the Cure; raised $17,800 for ACS.” Guess which one made an impression?
One detail I loved from the training: your activities should reinforce your application persona—the theme that makes you stand out and be memorable. Order matters. Lead with choices that showcase who you are becoming, not just what you did.
TRY THIS: Use arrows (→) to show growth. Example: “Volunteer Tutor → Mentor → Founded literacy nonprofit.” This is a simple way to signal progression in just a few words.
Micro-Optimization Under Constraints
Most students groan when they see the 150-character limit. I hear this all the time: “How can I possibly summarize years of work in one line?” But here’s the truth: that little box is one of the best opportunities you have.
Admissions officers may only spend a couple of minutes on your file. Clarity and precision stand out. A Forbes study found that students who invested more hours in fewer activities had better outcomes at elite schools than those who spread themselves thin. The takeaway? You don’t need ten entries. You need ten that prove depth and outcomes.
Here’s the formula I teach my students: Verb + Number + Outcome.
- Weak: “Volunteered at hospital.”
- Strong: “Tutored 30 patients weekly; improved scores by 15% on average.”
Also sanity-check your time claims. Our former AO cautioned that you shouldn’t stack so many entries that they imply an impossible schedule—“you don’t want to have more than ~25 hours of activities at any given time.” Be realistic, and include prep time only if it’s genuine.
And I’ve seen this transformation change how applications land. Consider:
- “Team Captain, Robotics — Led 52 members; oversaw design; won Innovation in Control award.”
- “Founder, Library Project — Collected 800+ books; donated 20 libraries to rural communities.”
Both tell a complete story of leadership and scale — all under the character limit.
TRY THIS: Pick one entry and rewrite it using the formula. If you don’t have a number, estimate hours, dollars raised, or people reached. If that’s not possible, emphasize outcomes: what changed because you were there?
If you’re over ~25 hrs/wk during the school year, consolidate or trim.
Signaling Institutional Fit
One of the biggest mistakes strong applicants make is treating every Activities List the same. At the top schools, optimization isn’t just about what you did — it’s about how you signal alignment with what that school values.
Colleges shift priorities each year. One may emphasize civic engagement, another global perspective, another research. A New York Post report pointed out that even high-achieving applicants sometimes get into Ivies but are rejected at “peer” schools because their applications weren’t tailored. The Activities List is one of the easiest places to send subtle signals of fit.
For example, the same tutoring activity can be framed three different ways:
- For Georgetown: “Organized 200-hour civic engagement project in local schools.”
- For MIT: “Tutored peers in STEM; developed problem sets to expand AP curriculum.”
- For Stanford: “Created AI app to support student learning; used by 500 peers.”
A second lens I stress with students: evidence for your intended major. As we discussed in training, “you still want to put what major you plan on [studying]… but you want to show evidence for that particular major you’re thinking about right now.” You don’t have to be locked in, but the activities should make your academic direction feel inevitable.
TRY THIS: Take your most flexible activity and try writing it three ways. Which version matches your dream school’s culture best?
Senior-Fall Playbook: Smart Upgrades When Time Is Tight
Even if you’re submitting soon, you can still level up entries you already have. A few high-yield moves from our internal training:
- Codify what you’re already doing. Package the work: publish the poems you’ve drafted, compile a design portfolio, or cut a short film that documents your project. You don’t need to start from scratch—finish something you’ve started.
- Launch one targeted initiative at school. “If you have an opportunity for a leadership position when you go back in the fall, go for it.” Even a tight project—like a plastic-reduction policy—can be measurable fast.
- Competitions with winter results = update fuel. Submitting to Scholastic Art & Writing or similar gives you outcomes to include in a deferral letter: “You’ll be able to say, I won a Gold Key… and show you’re still pushing your work forward.”
- It’s okay if a project isn’t done. One student “really wanted to make a video game about Byzantine history”—he hadn’t finished by ED, but was admitted anyway because he could show progress and momentum.
TRY THIS: Pick one of the four bullets above and put it on your calendar this week. Then write the 150-character description as if it already happened—and backfill the steps.
The Invisible Activities That Change the Game
Here’s something students underestimate: admissions officers love seeing the unexpected. Everyone has the “classic” activities — varsity sports, honor societies, student government. What stands out is the unusual.
I’ve worked with students who thought babysitting younger siblings wasn’t “worthy” of the list — until we reframed it as “Provided 20 hrs/week childcare; managed household logistics for working parents.” Suddenly, it shows responsibility and maturity.
Or take independent creative work. One applicant described herself simply as “Artist.” We reframed it as: “Exhibited in 8 galleries across China; featured in 4 national magazines.” Same talent, but much stronger presentation.
Leadership isn’t always positional. One AO told the story of a skier who was “consistently last” in competitions—but she united the team, ran watch-parties for Olympic events, taught younger athletes, and became co-captain because of her impact, not her scores. That’s the bar: what changed because you were there?
TRY THIS: Look at your activities and circle one that feels too “ordinary.” Now reframe it. Can you highlight hours, outcomes, or uniqueness? That could be the thing that sets you apart.
Equity and Distinction
This isn’t just about polish. Research on “undermatching” shows that high-achieving students from under-resourced schools often attend less selective colleges than they qualify for — simply because their applications don’t reflect their impact clearly enough.
I’ve seen students underestimate their own commitments: “Ballet practice.” But rewritten as “Trained 27 hrs/week; performed 14 annual shows; led outreach to 200+ community members”, it suddenly becomes evidence of discipline and leadership.
Or: “Community service.” Rewritten as “Founded library project; collected 800+ books; donated 20 rural libraries”, it becomes a story of initiative that admissions officers remember.
House rules that help:
- Don’t duplicate honors. If an award appears in Honors, don’t burn characters repeating it in the activity entry. Use that space for outcomes.
- Use Additional Information sparingly. Keep abstracts or links very brief; “admissions officers don’t like reading lots in the additional info section,” and many won’t click links.
TRY THIS: If one of your entries feels “ordinary,” ask yourself: What did this require of me? Who benefited? How much time did I put in? Those answers can transform it.
Before & After — Activity Entry Makeovers
| Before (Weak & Generic) | After (Optimized) |
| Debate Team Member | “Researched 100+ files; debated 150+ rounds; won regional awards.” |
| Robotics Captain | “Led 52 members; oversaw design/execution; won Innovation in Control award.” |
| Student Council President | “Organized Night for the Cure; raised $17,800 for American Cancer Society.” |
| Babysitting | “Provided 20 hrs/week childcare; managed household logistics for working parents.” |
| Volunteer | “Collected 800+ books; donated 20 libraries to rural communities.” |
Case Study: How an “Eco-Poet” Made ED Work
A senior with a 32 ACT (below the median at many Top 30 destinations) paired Iowa Young Writers Studio with a policy-focused summer, published poems, founded a Surfrider chapter, and led a plastics-reduction campaign that “reduced single-use plastics in school by half,” plus organized beach cleanups three times annually. Her list told one clear story (creative writing × environment) and she was admitted ED to Dartmouth.
Homework: Top 30 Applicant Audit
Here’s a quick exercise to stress-test your Activities List:
- Would 25% of Ivy applicants also list this? If yes, sharpen or cut.
- Does it show growth? Rewrite with an arc.
- Have you used Verb + Number + Outcome? If not, revise.
- Is at least one activity distinctive? Test whether it’s memorable in two minutes.
- Do 1–2 entries signal fit with a dream school? Adjust accordingly.
If you can honestly check these boxes, you’re already ahead of most applicants.
Next Steps
Here’s the truth: at the Ivy League and Top 30 level, every applicant is impressive. But not every applicant is unforgettable. The Activities List is one of the most powerful places to show admissions officers exactly what kind of impact you’ll bring to their campus.
If you’re not sure whether your list passes the “two-minute test,” don’t leave it to chance. Book a free consultation with InGenius Prep today, and let’s take your Activities List from strong to irresistible.
Recommended Reading
- AdmitReport – Extracurricular Magnitude and Impact
https://admitreport.com/blog/extracurricular-magnitude-and-impact - St. John’s University – Impactful Extracurricular Activities Add to College Applications
https://www.stjohns.edu/news-media/johnnies-blog/impactful-extracurricular-activities-add-college-applications - Forbes – For Elite College Admissions, Fewer Activities May Mean More
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereknewton/2025/06/16/for-elite-college-admissions-fewer-activities-may-mean-more/ - Journalist’s Resource – Race-Neutral Alternatives to Affirmative Action
https://journalistsresource.org/education/race-neutral-alternatives-affirmative-action-college-diversity/ - Inside Higher Ed – The Missing Black Students: Undermatching
https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/04/16/study-finds-undermatching-remains-major-problem-especially-black - IHEP – Legacy Admissions Perpetuate Inequities
https://www.ihep.org/legacy-looms-large-in-college-admissions-perpetuating-inequities/ - New York Post – How Top College Consultant Christopher Rim Gets Students Into Ivy League Colleges
https://nypost.com/article/how-top-college-consultant-christopher-rim-gets-students-into-ivy-league-colleges/ - New York Post – How Academic Pressure and College Admissions Cause Stress
https://nypost.com/2025/04/22/lifestyle/how-academic-pressure-and-college-admissions-cause-student-stress/ - Time – The Case Against Private College Admissions Counselors
https://time.com/6237286/private-college-counselors-gatekeepers/ - Education Next – Resolved: Debate Programs Boost Literacy and College Enrollment
https://www.educationnext.org/resolved-debate-programs-boost-literacy-and-college-enrollment/ - AERA – Debate Programs Linked to Achievement, Graduation, and Enrollment
https://www.aera.net/Newsroom/Study-School-Debate-Programs-Linked-to-Improvements-in-Academic-Achievement-Graduation-Rates-and-College-Enrollment - Brookings – Can We Fix Undermatching in Higher Ed?
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/can-we-fix-undermatching-in-higher-ed-would-it-matter-if-we-did/ - Brookings – How Competitive Debate Can Improve Public Education
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-competitive-debate-can-improve-public-education/ - Washington Post – What We Learned From the Harvard Admissions Trial
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/10/01/what-we-learned-harvard-admissions-trial/ - NACAC – State of College Admission Report
https://www.nacacnet.org/news–publications/publications/state-of-college-admission/