1. Pick the Right Activity

Common Application Short Answer Tips -- Make the Most of Your 1,000-Character Short Answer with These 6 Tips The prompt for the Short Answer on the Common Application states, "Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below (1,000 character maximum)." Although short, this little essay is important. It's a place where you can explain why one of your activities is important to you. It provides a small window into your passions and personality. The tips below can help you make the most out of these 1,000 characters.

1. Pick the Right Activity It may be tempting to pick an activity because you think it needs further explanation. You may be worried that the one-line description in the extracurricular section of the Common Application isn't clear. However, the Short Answer shouldn't be viewed as a place for clarification. You should focus on a long-term activity that means a lot to you. Admissions Officers really want to see what makes you tick. Use this space to elaborate upon your greatest passion whether that be playing chess, swimming, or working at the local bookstore.

2. Explain Why the Activity is Important to You The prompt uses the word "elaborate." Be careful how you interpret this word. You want to do more than describe the activity. You should analyze the activity. Why is it important to you? For example, if you worked on a political campaign, you shouldn't simply describe what your duties were. You should explain why you believed in the campaign. Discuss how the political views of the candidate intersected with your own beliefs and values. The true purpose of the Short Answer isn't for the admissions officers to learn more about the activity; it's for them to learn more about you.

3. Be Precise and Detailed Whatever activity you chose to elaborate upon, make sure you present it with precise details. If you describe your activity with vague language and generic details, you will fail to capture why you are passionate about the activity. Don't simply say you like an activity because it is "fun." Ask yourself why it is fun--do you like the teamwork, the intellectual challenge, the travel, the feeling of physical exhaustion?

4. Make Every Word Count 1,000 characters isn't a lot -- perhaps 180 words. You want to choose every word carefully. The short answer needs to be concise and substantive. You have no space for wordiness, repetition, digression, vague language or flowery language. You should also use most of the space you are given. An 80 word response is failing to take full advantage of this opportunity to tell the admissions folks about one of your passions.

5. Strike the Right Tone The tone of your short answer can be serious or playful, but you want to avoid a couple common pitfalls. If your short answer has a dry, matter-of-fact tone, your passion for the activity will not come across. Try to write with energy. Also, watch out for sounding like a braggart or egotist.

6. Be Sincere It is often easy to tell if an applicant is creating a false reality in an effort to impress the admissions officers. Don't write about your work at a church fundraiser if your true passion is actually football. A college won't admit someone just because the student is a do-gooder. They will admit students who reveal motivation, passion, and honesty.

SAMPLES - Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below (1000 character maximum)."

1. Christie wrote the following sample short answer essay to elaborate upon her love of running:

It is the simplest of movements: right foot, left foot, right foot. It is the simplest of actions: run, relax, breathe. For me, running is both the most basic and the most complex activity I perform in any day. While my body adjusts to the challenges of gravel paths and steep inclines, my mind is free to drift, to sift through whatever needs sorting or disposing -- the upcoming day’s tasks, an argument with a friend, some nagging stress. As my calf muscles loosen and my breathing settles into its deep rhythm, I am able to release that stress, forget that argument, and set my mind in order. And at the midway point, two miles into the course, I stop at the hilltop vista overlooking my little town and the surrounding woodlands. For just a moment, I stop to listen to my own strong heartbeat. Then I run again.

Critique of Christie's Short Answer Essay

Christie has focused on a personal activity, running, not any history-making achievement, team triumph or world-changing social work. As such, the short answer essay does not highlight any kind of remarkable accomplishment or personal talent. But think about what this short answer essay does reveal -- Christie is someone who can find pleasure in the "simplest" of activities. She is someone who has found an effective way for dealing with stress and finding peace and equilibrium in her life. She reveals that she is in tune with herself and her small town environment.

This one little paragraph gives us the impression that Christie is a balanced, thoughtful, sensitive and healthy person. These are all dimensions of her character that will not come across in her lists of grades, test scores and extracurriculars. They are also personal qualities that will be attractive to a college. The writing is also solid -- Christie's prose is tight, clear and stylistic without being over-written. The length is a perfect 823 characters/148 words. For both the writing and the content, Christie has written a winning short answer essay. 2. In this sample short answer response, Gwen writes about her passion for soccer:

Simply put, I love soccer. I love being part of a team of girls who go out there and give their all, heart and soul, in every game. We truly are a family in our team. I love being a part of that family and taking a leadership role, both on and off the field. Soccer has also helped me be a better leader in student organizations and class work, where I take a proactive role. Whether it is a good defensive block or scoring the winning goal, soccer is an empowering part of my life, and I would not be the person I am today without it.

Critique of Gwen's Short Answer Response

Gwen's short answer response is not terrible -- the language is easy to read and Gwen's love of soccer comes across forcefully.

However, Gwen's response does have several problems:

 The language is repetitive. Gwen says "I love" three times, and she repeats the ideas of family and leadership twice.

 The language is vague. What does Gwen mean when she says she takes "a proactive role"? What is her "leadership role"? What exactly does she mean when she says soccer made her "the person I am today"?

 Some language is cliché. Phrases like "heart and soul" and "scoring the winning goal" appear in far too many essays about sports.

 The response is short and doesn't say much. 1,000 characters isn't much space in which to elaborate on an activity, yet Gwen's response is just 540 characters/108 words (and, as noted, those words are repetitive and vague). Gwen hasn't used the short answer to her advantage. Gwen does sound like a perfectly pleasant and enthusiastic student who works well with a team, but her response could be so much stronger. We finish her short answer response without a clear sense of the type of leader she is or what leadership roles she has assumed. There's nothing concrete here to illustrate how soccer has made her a stronger person and better student.

3. In response to the common application's short answer question, Doug writes about a lawn-mowing business that he founded:

My freshman year I founded Beat the Joneses, a lawn care company. I was a kid with a hand-pushed mower, a second-hand weed whacker, and a desire to build a successful and profitable company. Three years later, my company has four employees and I’ve used the profits to buy a riding mower, two trimmers, two hand mowers and a trailer. This kind of success comes naturally to me. I’m good at advertising locally and convincing my customers of the value of my services. I hope to use these skills in college as I earn my business degree. Business is my passion, and I hope to be even more financially successful after college.

Critique of Doug's Short Answer Response

What Doug has accomplished is impressive. Most college applicants haven't started their own business and hired employees. A college business program would probably be impressed by Doug's accomplishments.

Doug's short answer response, however, has some problems. The most significant issue is that Doug comes off sounding like a braggart and an egotist. The phrase "this kind of success comes naturally to me" is likely to rub the admissions officers the wrong way. Doug sounds full of himself. While a college wants confident students, it doesn't want obnoxious ones. Also, Doug comes across as someone who doesn't think he has much to learn in college. Why exactly does he want to go to college if he already thinks he has all the skills he needs to run a business?

The overall message that we get from Doug's essay is that the writer is someone who thinks very highly of himself and likes to make money. If Doug has any ambitions more noble than "profit," he hasn't made those goals clear in his short answer response. Doug does not sound like someone who will be a charitable and contributing member of a campus community.

Colleges hear all too frequently that students want to attend so that they can get a great job and make money. However, if students have no passion for learning and participating in college life, the road to that degree will be fraught with problems. Doug's short answer doesn't succeed in explaining the connection between his lawn care company and his desire to spend four years of his life studying business.