Education: College Application Process for Homeschoolers *Resume*

Whether your child is a few years away from high school or in the college application process, one component you and your child can begin working on is the resume.

Some universities will require a pdf resume, for others it may be optional, and for others they may not want one at all. But the information you organize and record in the resume will be very helpful when completing applications and the Common Application in particular.

Your child can also share his/her resume with teachers who are writing letters of recommendation and having this information readily available will be very helpful. Many scholarship applications will also ask for a resume.

Similar to the transcript, there are a lot of online templates to follow. As the homeschool parent/school counselor, you can help your child with organizing and preparing, but it is also great if they take the initiative. Your child can be creative and express his/her personality through the resume too.

Universities want to know who you are not only in the classroom, but in your community as well. The resume is a place to share more of what matters to you and who you are as a whole person.

A few basics to get you started.

• Begin keeping track as soon as possible.

• Create a document or use an online template with contact information as the header. You can also set apart the left margin as a type of header with contact information and a headshot if you prefer. The final version should be a one page pdf.

• Separate activities and information into sections that you can add to year after year. Include these sections: Profile, Education, Honors & Awards, Volunteer Service, Leadership Experience, Community & Religious Activities, Extracurricular, Special Talents & Skills, Work Experience, Interests.

• Remember this is to help you and your student organize information and not to create a burden or checklist of things to accomplish. You do not have to include every section on the final resume.

The sections to include and start adding to as you go through the high school years are…

Profile: Include a few strong adjectives that describe your child. Do not use first person in the description.

Education: Include name of homeschool, years attended, graduation date, weighted and unweighted GPA, highest test scores (ACT/SAT/AP). If dual enrollment courses were taken, include name of community college or university, dates attended, credit hours, and GPA.

Honors & Awards: Include national, state, and local awards. This can be more of a challenge for a homeschooler as the opportunities are not as readily available. There are local, state, and national groups and tests you can participate in as a homeschooler such as Math Counts, Science Olympiad, 4-H, National Latin Exam, Honor Societies through dual enrollment, writing competitions, music awards, sports awards, scouting badges and awards, etc. Also include the date you received the award.

Volunteer Service: Include organization, location, and dates. Numbers are important, so throughout the resume include numbers to relate the extent of your involvement and leadership.

Leadership Experience: Include leadership positions in organizations, clubs, or groups that you started. Again, be sure to include dates and numbers.

Community & Religious Activities: Include involvement in activities at church or community organizations. Depending on your child’s involvement and activities, you may ultimately want to combine this section with volunteer service. Some universities may ask for separate categories, so as you organize through the years having many sections will provide flexibility. Be sure in the final draft to not duplicate activities in multiple sections.

Extracurricular: Include teams, groups, organizations, clubs along with dates and accomplishments.

Special Talents & Skills: Include any special talents or skills. Consider areas like sports, music, writing, computer, communication, language/translation, hands-on technical, art, etc. Think about skills that relate to the major you want to pursue, and think outside the box. This is an area to show your unique pursuits and gifts.

Work Experience: Include business name, location, hours worked per week or month, and dates.

Interests: Include things you like to do in your free time that are not listed in extracurricular or other areas.

Some universities will ask for specific sections only, so by including as many as you can during the organizational stage, it will be easier in the midst of the application process to cut and paste and create a specific resume if necessary.

You may want to combine some sections, eliminate some, and add others not listed. Remember the resume should reflect and highlight your unique child.

All of the service, experience, and activities sections can be incorporated into the “Activities” section on the Common Application. There are ten slots for activities on the Common App, but you do not have to include ten. It will be very helpful for your student to have kept track of this information along the way so he/she can use the resume to complete this section during the application process.

Other Resumes

Music/Arts Resume: If your child is involved in music and the arts and applies for acceptance into arts specific programs, it is likely a specific resume will be required.

Start keeping track of pieces played in ensembles, solos, bands, and orchestras along with dates and locations. Include private instruction, performance experience, along with locations, organizations, and dates.

You may want to create a you tube channel or separate website where you can upload performances, art pieces, etc. You can be creative and showcase artistic abilities with a website with more information, videos, photos, artwork, etc. Some universities will have their own sites where you complete and upload an arts portfolio, but it will be helpful during the process to have the information all together in one place either way.

Athletic Resume: If your child is an athlete hoping to play on a collegiate team, there is a process which warrants more than a section of this post. But for beginning the resume, start keeping track of leadership positions, athletic awards and accomplishments, responsibilities, hours spent training, and start collecting video footage of their skills. Their resume will need to include links to videos and links to their social media.

Helpful Resources and Links