High school student resumes are a useful tool as you prepare for the college admissions process. They can not only be given to potential employers but attached to selective summer opportunity applications and sometimes given to colleges as a snapshot of your accomplishments, extracurriculars, hobbies, and work history. They can also be a useful tool for prepping for a college interview or to give to the teachers who are writing your letters of recommendation. Finally, having all the information collected on a resume will undoubtedly come in handy when you begin to fill out your college application.
Writing a High School Resume
High school student resumes are a useful tool as you prepare for the college admissions process. They can not only be given to potential employers but attached to selective summer opportunity applications and sometimes given to colleges as a snapshot of your accomplishments, extracurriculars, hobbies, and work history. They can also be a useful tool for prepping for a college interview or to give to the teachers who are writing your letters of recommendation. Finally, having all the information collected on a resume will undoubtedly come in handy when you begin to fill out your college application!
What should go on the resume?
Any of the sections below can be used to organize your resume. Pick an assortment that works best for you to highlight your most significant accomplishments.
- Heading with your name, address, mobile phone number, and e-mail
- High school information with your planned graduation date, GPA (weighted and unweighted)
- Academic awards, honors, publications, and other achievements
- Significant coursework (including summer courses, college courses, or other specialized academic accomplishments that do not appear on your high school transcript)
- Extracurricular activities
- Community service
- Athletics (as a separate category if this has been a focal point of your high school career)
- Fine Arts (again, as a separate category if this has been a focal point of your high school career)
- Employment
- Hobbies and Special skills (e.g. foreign language fluency, coding expertise, musical talents, etc)
When should you submit a resume?
Some colleges and scholarship committees request or recommend that you include a high school resume with your application materials. (But don’t submit a resume if they ask you not to—following instructions is a key application strategy.) Bring your resume to college interviews and give copies to your high school college counselor and teachers so that they can write you the strongest possible recommendation letter. ALWAYS bring a resume to a job interview!