For seniors filling in the activities section
Common App Activities List Writer
Paste your notes or résumé and get your Common App activities list ranked and written to fit the 50, 100 and 150 character boxes.
Free to start. No card needed.
How to write your Common App activities list yourself
Start with a long list, not 10. Write down everything since ninth grade: clubs, sports, jobs, summer programs, hobbies you taught yourself and duties at home. Common App counts responsibilities at home1 that meet an important need for your family, such as supervising a younger sibling or working to provide family income. Then rank the list, most important first, weighing years, hours per week, responsibility and results. The 10 slots are a ceiling, not a target, so cut anything that adds nothing new.
Open each description with a strong verb, say what you did, then give the result. A line like “Redesigned intake, cutting cycle time from 12 to 7 sec” says more than “Member of robotics team.” Use a number wherever you have one, and leave out “I” and anything another box already says. Common App's activities guide2 suggests abbreviating words and simplifying grammar. Its own example trims a 256-character description to 141, spaces included, partly by dropping the time spent, which has its own boxes.
Then fill the other boxes. Put your title in the position/leadership box, which Common App made optional for 2026–273, and the group's full name in the organization box. If you can't remember exact hours per week or weeks per year, Common App says a best guess is fine. Keep every title and number true: Common App's fraud policy4 lists materially misrepresenting your role or job title as fraud. If an activity needs more room, use the Additional information question, which Common App cut to 300 words in 20255.
Common App 2026–27
Every box for your activities, with its limit
Spaces and punctuation count toward every character limit. For 2026–27 the section is called “Activities and experiences,” and its three character limits stayed the same.
| Box | Limit | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| Activity type | A dropdown list | The closest match. If nothing fits, Common App says you can choose “other club/activity” and explain in the position and description boxes. |
| Position/leadership | 50 characters | Your title or role, such as Captain or Shift lead. Optional for 2026–27. |
| Organization name | 100 characters | The full name of the club, team, employer or program, spelled out. |
| Description | 150 characters | In Common App's words, “activity details, honors won, and accomplishments.” |
| Additional information | 300 words | Context an activity needs that 150 characters can't hold. It sits in the Writing section. |
From Common App's activities guide2 (September 2026), its 2026–27 update for counselors3 and its February 2025 announcement5. Checked October 29, 2026.
How it works
How does River write my activities list?
Paste whatever you have, such as rough notes, a résumé, a brag sheet or an old list, or drop up to 10 files. River reads all of it, picks out your activities and ranks them by the commitment each one shows. Then it writes each box to fit Common App's limits and counts every character. Each description comes in two versions, the second from a different angle, such as leading with the result. Your doc holds only the finished section, not your notes.
River uses only the facts you give it and never invents a number, title or result. When a box needs something you didn't mention, such as how many weeks a season runs, it leaves a short bracket. Each bracket gets a plain question in a “To fill in” list. If your notes give a schedule, like Sept to March, River works out weeks per year and marks the figure as an estimate. Honors with no ongoing activity get their own list, ready for the Honors section.
Applying to the University of California? Choose UC application and River writes up to 20 entries across UC's six categories, one version each, in plain full sentences with acronyms spelled out. A filled-in brag sheet works well as input for either form. When your list is done, turn your strongest activity into a story with the college essay writer. Then run the final check before you submit, to catch numbers that don't match across your application.
How it works
From your notes to a finished list
Paste your activities
Paste notes, a résumé or an old list, or drop files, then pick Common App or the UC application.
River ranks and writes
It ranks your activities by importance and writes every box to fit, with two versions of each description.
Get your list
Every entry lands in your doc with character counts, a note on the order and what's left to fill in.
Fill in and paste
Answer the bracket questions, edit any line into your own words, then paste each box into the application.
Activity 1 · Robotics · example
- Position/leadershipBuild Lead10/50
- Organization nameWestview High School Robotics Club34/100
- Description, version ARedesigned intake, cutting cycle time from 12 to 7 sec; run 8-person build crew; taught 3D design to 5 freshmen; team made state for 1st time141/150
- Description, version BTeam's 1st trip to state: redesigned intake (cycle time 12 to 7 sec), run 8-person build crew & taught 3D design to 5 freshmen126/150
What you'll get
Every activity ranked and written to fit Common App's character limits, with counts shown
- Up to 10 activities, ranked by importance and written to fit every Common App box
- Two versions of each description, with strong verbs, your real numbers and the exact character count
- Grades, hours and weeks filled from your notes, with a bracket wherever a number is missing
Before and after
Your notes in. A finished activities section out.
Robotics club at Westview High since 9th grade, build lead this year. I redesigned our intake and our cycle time went from 12 sec to 7. Run the build crew (8 people), taught 3D design to the 5 new freshmen. We made state for the first time! Probably 10 hrs a week during season. Weekends I work the counter at my parents' restaurant, Golden Wok, Sat and Sun, and take phone orders in Cantonese and English. Started a free Scratch coding club at the Elm Street library for middle schoolers last year, 14 kids signed up.
Activities and experiences · Common App 3 activities, ranked by importance. Every count checked. 1. Robotics · Build Lead (10/50) · Westview High School Robotics Club (34/100). A (141/150): Redesigned intake, cutting cycle time from 12 to 7 sec; run 8-person build crew; taught 3D design to 5 freshmen; team made state for 1st time Grades 9 to 12 · 10 hrs/wk · [weeks] wks/yr. 2. Family restaurant · Counter & Phone Orders (22/50). A (105/150): Work front counter & take phone orders in Cantonese & English every Sat & Sun; [one more task you handle] To fill in [weeks] How many weeks a year does robotics season run? [one more task you handle] What else are you trusted with at Golden Wok?
Every fact comes from the notes. Anything a box needs that the notes don't say becomes a bracket and a question.
What lands in your doc
What's in your activities list
- Up to 10 activities ranked by importance, with the ones that show the most commitment first
- Position, organization and description written to fit 50, 100 and 150 characters, with exact counts
- Two versions of every description, led by strong verbs and your real numbers, with no filler
- Grade levels, timing, hours per week and weeks per year filled in from your own notes
- A short note on why each activity sits where it does, plus any honors listed separately
- A bracket and a plain question for every number or title only you can supply
Questions applicants ask
Common questions
How many characters is a Common App activity description?
150 characters, spaces and punctuation included. The position or leadership box allows 50 characters and the organization name 100, and Common App kept all three limits for 2026–273. Short forms such as hrs, wk and & help a full description fit. River writes each box inside its limit and shows the count beside it, such as 141/150.
How many activities should I list on the Common App?
As many as genuinely matter to you, up to 10. Common App's activities guide2 says you can add up to 10 but don't need to enter 10. It asks you to focus on what best tells your story, not on the number. Five specific entries with real numbers beat 10 vague ones. With more than 10, River merges related items and lists what it left out.
What counts as an activity on the Common App?
Far more than school clubs. Jobs, internships, volunteering, sports, hobbies and duties at home all count. Common App's note on responsibilities and circumstances1 lists duties that take several hours every week, such as caring for your own children, regularly helping a grandparent or running errands. It says knowing about these duties helps admissions officers put your grades and activities in context.
What changed in the Common App activities section for 2026–27?
The section is now called “Activities and experiences,” with instructions revised to capture commitments beyond high school. The position or leadership box is optional, and time spent after high school can be reported more accurately, according to Common App's 2026–27 update for counselors3. The 50, 100 and 150 character limits stayed the same, and you can still list up to 10 activities.
How do I write my Common App activities list with River?
Paste your notes, résumé or an old list into the box at the top of this page, or drop up to 10 files, and choose Common App or UC. River ranks your activities, writes every box to fit and brackets anything missing. It all lands in your free River workspace, where you fill the brackets and make each line your own.
Can I use AI to write my Common App activities?
Yes, as a drafting aid, if the final wording is yours. Common App's fraud policy4 says fraud may include intentionally passing off an AI tool's substantive content or output as your own original work. The same list includes materially misrepresenting your role or job title. River drafts only from facts you give it, but check every line, rewrite it in your own words and follow each college's AI rules.
Is the activities list writer free?
Yes, it is free to start. Your activities list opens in a River workspace, where you can edit it, share it or ask River to change it, then turn your top activity into an essay. Paid plans add more AI use and access to the most advanced models.
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