How to Nail Your US Common Application
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How To Nail Your US Application Activities List  

A step-by-step guide on how to make your extracurriculars stand out above the competition.

Why Extracurriculars Matter

Now more than ever the candidacy you build through your Common Application activities list is vital to your gaining admission. Here’s why:

Standardised test uncertainty

With many students unable to gain access to SAT/ACT test centers during COVID-19, admissions officer are looking to the Activities page to discern the calibre of applicant.

The Pool Is Getting Smarter

Top universities are receiving an ever-increasing number of applications from students with good grades, which is why your Activities List plays an increasingly important part in your admissions decision.

Passion + Purpose = Progress

Given the current global climate, admissions officers are looking for students who’ve turned their passions into purposeful projects that inevitably ‘progress’ these students through the admissions process pile.

A Window To Your Future You

Admissions officers want to be able to picture who you’ll be in 4, 10 or even 20 years time. Your Activities List provides a snapshot as to not just what you’ll contribute to campus, but also the global community beyond.

Pinehurst School

Macleans College

St Kentigern College

St Andrew's College

Why Crimson Is Unique

At Crimson we understand the high importance of your Activities List — which is why you will have your own mentor.  

Why Are Crimson

Personalisation Counts


Crimson is the only college admissions support company in the world that offers students comprehensive personalised extracurricular and leadership (ECL) support, with expert mentors providing step-by-step guidance for every student based on their individual passions and goals.

We’re aware of how vital your activities page is when it comes to lifting you above the competition, and more importantly how you can use your unique interests to build lists that are meaningful, memorable and difficult to ignore. At Crimson we:

Team every student with an ECL mentor with similar goals and passions

Match students with mentors who went to the very schools students are aiming for

Help students build stand-out projects and create new leadership opportunities that lift them

Crimson's Success

The words of brilliant Crimson students who achieved their dreams working with us

460+
Offers to the world’s best colleges
38
Offers to Oxford & Cambridge
133
Offers to Ivy League colleges
$45M
Worth of scholarships (USD)

Crimson High School Rankings

Co-founder and CEO of Crimson Education, Jamie Beaton

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What This Booklet Will Cover

The important of starting early
The definition of extracurricular ‘commitment’
How to paint a thematic extracurricular picture 
What the Common App Activities section actually looks like
How your activities should be presented
How Crimson can help

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What This Booklet Will Cover

In this special booklet outlining how you can nail your US Common Application Activities List we will cover:

    The importantance of starting early
    The definition of extracurricular ‘commitment’
    How to paint a thematic extracurricular picture 
    What the Common App Activities section actually looks like
    How your activities should be presented
    How Crimson can help

Hear from Crimson Students

Why ECL support makes all the difference

Elaine 
UChicago Class of ‘24

Crimson’s technology-based mentorship sparked the idea for me to conduct my StoryWish initiative online. Thanks to my amazing ECL mentor Laura, my ideas became a reality, through planning, connection, and support.”

Dafi
UC Berkeley Class of ‘23 

“My Crimson ECL mentor helped me realise who I am and what I could contribute across two diverse cultures. She helped me build on my passion for acceptance and make a viable ‘footprint’, and for that I’ll be forever grateful.”

Josh
Stanford University Class of ‘23

“At first I thought the activities section of my application would pale in comparison to others. But my Crimson mentor showed me how to be confident in who I was, and that it was the fact that I was different that would make me stand out from everyone else.”

UK Top 10 Universities

600+ offers to the UK Top 10 (Times Education rankings)

Crimson students have received offers to UCL, LSE, Imperial, King’s College London, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Manchester, the University of Bristol and more.

The University of California Family

500+ offers to the major UC colleges.

Crimson students are at least twice as likely to gain admission to UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego than the general applicant.

The World's Best STEM Universities

112+ offers to the world’s best STEM universities

Crimson students have successfully gained admission to MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western and more.

2018 Judging Panel
CRIMSON EDUCATION CEO

Co-founder and CEO of Crimson Education. Jamie applied to the top 25 universities in the world and gained acceptance into all of them. Jamie was named 2016 Young Innovator of the Year by the NZ Innovation Counil. This year Jamie featured in Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 - Consumer Tech.

2018 Judging Panel
CRIMSON EDUCATION CEO

Co-founder and CEO of Crimson Education. Jamie applied to the top 25 universities in the world and gained acceptance into all of them. Jamie was named 2016 Young Innovator of the Year by the NZ Innovation Counil. This year Jamie featured in Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 - Consumer Tech.

2018 Judging Panel
CRIMSON EDUCATION CEO

Co-founder and CEO of Crimson Education. Jamie applied to the top 25 universities in the world and gained acceptance into all of them. Jamie was named 2016 Young Innovator of the Year by the NZ Innovation Counil. This year Jamie featured in Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 - Consumer Tech.

Hear it from Crimson Students

The words of brilliant Crimson students who achieved their dreams working with us

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“In the end it came down to preparation and confidence and knowing that - with the help of my Crimson tutors - I had done everything I could possibly do to be exam ready.”

Bluebelle C.
Accepted to Yale University and the University of Oxford
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“Crimson’s technology-based mentorship was key to the success and impact of my extracurricular project. My Crimson mentor showed me how technology takes away the barrier of distance. Thanks to her, my ideas became a reality, through planning, connection, and support.”

Elaine L.
Accepted to UC Berkeley and the University of Chicago
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“When I first took my SAT’s, my score wasn’t great. But after I started tutoring with Crimson I got a 1470 and on my third try, a 1540!”

Sathya
Accepted to Dartmouth College
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Download Our Expert Activities List Booklet Now 

Fill in the form below to receive a copy of our exclusive “How to Nail Your Common Application Activities List’ Booklet