Don’t limit the information on your resume to work activities. You should include work information because what makes you a good employee can be related to what makes you a good student. But work isn’t everything.

Tell us how you spend your time outside of work. Have you been part of any activities related to your requested major? For example, if you’re applying to nursing, have you volunteered at any hospitals? Even if the time you spent was part of a class that you took elsewhere, it can still be meaningful when your application is reviewed.

Tell us what you’re committed to. How do you spend your leisure time contributing to your neighborhood – on campus and off? Tell us if you’ve volunteered in community or church groups, for example – especially if they involve leadership and organizational activities on your part. Did you serve as chairman of any committees? Did you work to get a group started or to keep it organized?

Don’t be shy. Take time to remember and list everything that you’ve done that may help us to see how you’ve excelled. Ask your friends and family to review your information before submitting it to make sure you haven’t left anything out.

Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when creating your expanded resume:

• The content of your resume, not its appearance, is what matters. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be concerned about things such as spelling and grammar, but submitting a resume that’s been formatted to look like something you’d submit with a job application isn’t necessary.
• Following the organization of our sample resumes (sample resume 1 for applicants who have been out of high school only a couple of years or so and sample resume 2 for applicants who have been out of high school for a bit longer) will help you to include the details we need, such as the hours per week and weeks per year you committed to each activity.
• Don’t try to fit everything on one page (no matter who might try to tell you otherwise). Our sample is only a page long because we’re simply trying to show you what details we need for each item you include and a couple of examples of the kinds of things you might want to include. Many students submit multiple pages of information about their activities, achievements, and responsibilities; you should do the same if you have that much to tell us about.
• Be thorough. Include details about each activity rather than listing something general like “community service” without any details about what that service involves.
• Don’t repeat information or use large font, however, to try to make it seem as though you have more to tell us than you do. We read the information submitted to us carefully enough to look beyond any attempt to exaggerate accomplishments.
• Include details about all your personal achievements in your expanded resume (not just those that you can’t fit on your ApplyTexas application). Having everything in one place makes it easier for the reviewer to get a clear picture of your accomplishments.

• Use the university’s Resume Submission System to submit your resume electronically. The system requires you to have an “active” application on file, so be sure to submit your ApplyTexas application before trying to use the system.
• You may also mail or fax your expanded resume to the Office of Admissions.