After church one Sunday, I went out to lunch with six high school students from our youth group. A junior mentioned that she'd received her first college application—and was kind of freaked out. She wasn't worked up about the length of it or any of the essay questions. She was worried because the school was asking for lists of her academic achievements, community service, leadership experience and extracurricular activities.

I asked: "What's the problem with that?"

"Well, I don't have anything impressive to put there," she said.

That comment shocked me. After all, this girl was on an ice skating team that won third place in nationals! When I mentioned that, she said, "But that's it. All I have is skating. It takes so much of my time, I don't do anything else. My application isn't going to be very impressive."

I asked the other students what they planned to list as their accomplishments and activities. One said: "I just go to school and then come home." Another answered, "My family needs me to work. I don't have time for activities." A third said, "I'm in a couple clubs, but nothing impressive."

Because of my friendships with these students, I knew there was one big area they were forgetting: youth group. All of them attend youth group every week, go on work trips to help the needy, serve on leadership committees and more. But not one of them thought it was something to put on an application. If they're missing that, I thought, what else are they missing?

The truth is, you don't have to be the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest or the inventor of a new fuel in order to fill out a quality application. Every student—yes, every student—has good information to put on an application. However, it's easy to get caught up in the assumption that you have to impress colleges with long lists of accomplishments. But, the reality: This isn't about impressing colleges. Instead, it's a chance to let colleges see who you are.

When you think about it that way, it's easy to realize anyone can fill those application blanks. Anyone can give evidence of who they are and what they do. You just have to find the things that explain your gifts, values and priorities. Here are a few tips to get you thinking about what you have to put on an app.

A lot of students assume the phrase "extracurricular activities" refers only to school-related sports and clubs. Not true. Actually, that's just a small portion of the things you can list on an application. Your extracurriculars are just any activities you fill your day with.

So, start brainstorming: How do you fill your time? If you spend most of your time outside of school at work, write that down. If you like to read, write it down. If you have hobbies (horseback riding, dancing, writing) you're actively involved in, put them on the list.

What have you done each day of the past week? If you were at church choir on Tuesday, Bible study on Wednesday and babysitting Thursday, write all those things down.

What clubs or organizations call you a member? 4-H? Girl Scouts? Club soccer? Write them down.

Many applications will ask about leadership experience. If you've never been class president or captain of the basketball team, you may feel like skipping this one. But, just like there are lots of extracurricular activities outside of school, there are also a lot of leadership positions that aren't based on elections or varsity letters.

In our youth group, students plan and organize worship services, deliver talks to the youth group, and completely design and execute a big fundraising night every year. However, when we talked about what leadership experience they had, not one of them mentioned any of that. These are leadership experiences, but the students didn't think of them that way.

Not everyone is built to be the standing-up-front, making-decisions kind of leader. But you've probably taken the lead in something. Maybe your biology teacher needed someone to take the initiative to create the website for the ecology club. Maybe you found and scheduled families to host youth group events at their homes. Maybe you are an assistant teacher for a Sunday school class. These have all given you leadership experience. So instead of thinking about "leadership positions" you've held, think about experiences that stretched or challenged you. When did you step up to make sure something got done? How have you made a difference in your school, church or community?

The reason I was able to help those teens from my church think of stuff for their college apps wasn't because I was any smarter than them. Itwas because I was looking from the outside. It's amazing what observers see about us that we don't notice. Ever been caught off guard by a compliment? Chances are a person saw something positive in you that you never even thought much about. It's kind of like that. One of the teens at lunch that day organized the youth group phone list every year—on his own initiative—but never even considered how that could be a notable accomplishment. It took a friend mentioning it to clue him in.

Likewise, I'm always surprised by what people notice about me. For instance, a friend of mine and I started a humor magazine at our school. I thought it was just a fun and goofy way to spend my time. But a teacher told me, "You know that is not only a real accomplishment, but a huge leadership experience. That's the kind of thing that says a lot about who you are."

So you can do two things to find these things in your life. One, think about what people have complimented you on lately. Maybe your pastor just sent you an e-mail thanking you for something you did at last week's charity drive. Maybe you've been mentoring a junior high kid but never even considered it "mentoring" until his mom thanked you for it.

Second, ask around. Make a list of people you can ask, "What are some of my achievements, leadership experiences and accolades?" Start with parents, youth pastor, teachers, guidance counselor and volunteer youth counselors.

If you're currently working on college applications, it's time to brainstorm all the awards, activities and leadership experiences you've had during high school. Use this list to fill in each application so you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time.

But if you are younger, start taking notes as you move through high school. Keep a computer file or a notebook of all the stuff that can someday fill in an application. If you get a first place in 4-H, write that down. If you are asked to play your trumpet for a Veterans' Day event, make a note. When you volunteer to do anything with your youth group or any club (baking cookies for nursing homes, sending gifts to an orphanage, or going on a mission trip), record all those hours.

Don't pressure yourself into thinking you have to have a killer list of monumental qualifications. Just use the application as a way to give admissions staff an idea of who you are, what you enjoy and what you care about. An admissions expert told Christian College Guide, "You have the opportunity to tell your whole story." And while that story will be told through your essays and your letters of reference, you can also give them a good glimpse of your life through your list of achievements and accomplishments. So sit down, do a little personal reflection, talk to some people who know you well, and then get that list started.

Copyright © 2007 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine.
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