Resumes and Brag Sheets

Strong letters of recommendation and college applications start with good raw material. Your counselors and teachers can only write about what they know, and admissions readers can only evaluate what you tell them. These tools help you tell your story clearly, specifically, and early. 

Step 1: Every Student, Build Your Resume

All students, grades 9 through 12, should create and maintain an activities resume. It becomes the foundation for your recommendation requests, your Common App and UC activities lists, scholarship applications, and summer program applications.

Open the BCP Resume Template

To use it: open the link, go to File, then Make a copy, and save it to your own Google Drive. Please do not request edit access to the original.

Step 2: 11th Graders, Start Your Brag Sheet Now

Brag sheets give your school counselor and teachers the details they need to write about you with depth. Most high schools collect them in the fall of senior year, but best practice is to be ready for letter of recommendation requests by late spring of 11th grade. Our recommendation: start chipping away in the fall and winter of junior year, and aim to finish your brag sheet by March. We'll walk through the full process together when our meetings pick up in the spring semester of junior year.

Try answering one or two questions a week. By spring, you will have thoughtful, detailed answers ready to submit, and you will have done much of the reflection your college essays require.

Local High School Letter of Recommendation Forms

Each school has its own process and required forms. Always follow your school's instructions and deadlines.

Best Practices

Depth over breadth

Colleges are not counting activities. A long list of one-time or low-commitment involvements is far less compelling than a few activities you have stuck with, grown in, and made a difference through. Highlight sustained commitment, increasing responsibility, leadership, and the impact you had on others. If you have an activity you care deeply about, give it the most space.

Details make it real

Vague descriptions are forgettable. Specific ones are memorable and give your recommenders something to write about. Compare:

  • Vague: "Member of the environmental club. Helped with events."
  • Specific: "Organized three beach cleanups with 60+ volunteers; built a partnership with a local nonprofit that now co-sponsors our annual Earth Day fundraiser, which raised $2,400 last year."

Use numbers wherever you can: hours per week, weeks per year, people served, dollars raised, members recruited, awards earned. Name the skills you developed and describe what changed because you were there.

More tips

  • Start with action verbs. Organized, founded, led, designed, tutored, researched, built.
  • Include the everyday things. A part-time job, caring for siblings, or significant family responsibilities count and are valued by colleges. List them.
  • Be honest and accurate. Recommenders and colleges may compare what they see across your materials. Estimate hours realistically.
  • Tell stories in your brag sheet. Share a specific moment that shows your character, curiosity, resilience, or kindness. Anecdotes are what recommenders quote.
  • Choose recommenders thoughtfully. Ask for two teacher letters, 11th or 12th grade teachers, core subject areas. They should know you well, ideally from classes where you participated actively or grew, not only where you earned your highest grade. As a courtesy, ask your school counselor too. Don't just assume they have to write a letter. Some colleges/majors require one letter from humanities and one from STEM. Most don't, but best to double check.
  • Ask early and in person. Request letters in spring of junior year. Follow up with your resume, brag sheet, and a list of deadlines.
  • Proofread. Your brag sheet is a writing sample for the people advocating for you.
  • Say thank you. Give a handwritten note to every recommender, and let them know where you end up.
  • Update regularly. Add new activities, awards, and hours at the end of each semester so nothing gets lost.