Now that you know the ins and outs of writing your core essay, you may think that all that’s left to do is fill in the blanks of your online app and click ‘submit.’

Well, think again. The key to maximizing the perfect college essay is to view your entire application as a narrative, filled with complementary expressions of what makes you uniquely you. That’s where the two most misunderstood and undervalued sections of your application come in: the activity grid and the short answer elaborating on one of those activities.

First let’s ponder the Common App’s newly expanded activity grid:

Even though the Common App now provides double the amount of space for content as previous years and you can include your jobs, you're still confined to listing ten prioritized activities.

If you’re artsy or athletic, you can somewhat increase the space allotted to you by clicking on the Supplements bar on your Common Application and downloading any specially designated forms some schools post for that purpose.

If you feel that stingy amount of area does you justice, then by all means fill in the blanks and click submit. Most applicants do. But not at Uniquely U.

See the invitation under the Core Essay upload section of The Common Application which invites you to include any additional information? Here is where you can upload your own activity sheet that says everything YOU need to say.It’s also a good place to put your explanation of any special circumstances that may have affected your GPA, your Eagle Scout project, scanned newspaper clippings, even a graded paper you’re proud of.

Why bother? Well, here’s one parent’s take:

“I love the activity sheet that my son submitted to colleges…. I thought Uniquely U.’s contribution there was at least of equal importance to the essay. Without that, his accomplishments wouldn’t have made the same impact – and, in fact, there wouldn’t have been room for them all!”

For examples of what's possible, check out our new Activity Sheet Gallery