sample resume for high school seniors applying to college

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By submitting my email address. i certify that i am 13 years of age or older, agree to recieve marketing email messages from the princeton review, and agree to terms of use., write a high school student resume for college applications.

Think resumes are only for job seekers? Think again. A high school student resume gives colleges a snapshot of your accomplishments, extracurriculars, hobbies, and work history. They can also be a useful tool for prepping for a college interview or to give to the teachers who are writing your letters of recommendation .

Not sure how to get started? Follow our tips for crafting a standout resume for college and scholarship applications.

What should go on a high school student resume for college admissions?

Any of the sections below could appear on your resume for college applications. Pick an assortment that works for you!

• Heading with your name, address, and e-mail
• High school information with your graduation date, GPA (weighted), class rank, and SAT/ACT scores
• Academic awards, publications, honors, and other achievements
• Coursework (summer programs, college courses, or other specialized workshops that do not appear on your high school transcript)
• Extracurricular activities
• Community service
• Work experience
• Special skills (e.g. foreign language fluency or HTML expertise)

When should you submit a resume to colleges?

Some colleges and scholarship committees request or recommend that you include a high school resume with your application materials. (But don’t submit a resume if they don’t ask for one—following instructions is a key application strategy.) Bring your resume to college interviews and give copies to your college counselor and teachers so that they can write you the strongest possible recommendation letter.

Tips for Composing Your College Admissions Resume

1. keep it concise..

Pare down the activities you showcase to the most brag-worthy and most representative of you as a candidate. Do colleges need to know that you were on the field hockey team for one semester in Grade 9? Probably not. The standard rule of thumb is to stick to one or two pages.

2. Focus on depth and length of commitment.

When deciding which activities and accomplishments make the cut, keep in mind that colleges would much rather see you excited about one or two key experiences than sporadic involvement in 20 clubs. If having an after-school job limited your ability to participate in clubs or sports, make sure your resume plays up your work responsibilities, training, and on-the-job skills.

Read More: Everything You Need to Know About Applying to College

3. Provide detail whenever possible.

The details are what set a resume apart from a list of extracurriculars on a standard college application. For example, when describing your involvement in the French Club make sure to include:

• school years/hours per week you participated
• specific contributions (e.g. "Organized a successful after-school film series to introduce our community to French cinema and culture" )
• leadership roles (e.g. "Treasurer, Grade 12" )
• unique details that will make you stand out

4. Highlight things you weren’t able to write about in your college essays or short answers.

Use your high school resume to show colleges something new. If your devotion to photography didn’t make it on the application but is a big part of who you are, then showcase your photography cred on your resume.

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5. Formatting is key.

Make your resume easy to scan. Divide information into sections with clear headings, bulleted lists, and a consistent font. Use a system of organization that works for you. (Chronological, by importance of activity, or by time commitment are a few options.) Don’t forget to proofread !

6. Be honest and accurate.

Colleges know how to spot inconsistencies in your high school student resume, and they won’t hesitate to call your counselor to verify information that doesn't seem right. So don't tell them that you have practice for the school play for 30 hours per week—unless drama club is somehow your full-time job!

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3 High School Student for College Resume Examples

High School Student for College Resume

Formal high school student for college resume, elegant high school student for college resume.

• High School Student for College Resume Writing 101

Life as a high school student can be exhilarating, but it can also feel like you’re juggling five million things. You’re sending out college applications, doing interviews, taking extracurricular courses, trying to have a social life, and prepare your resume for that killer job you’ve been eyeing.

If you don’t have a lot of experience, you might feel like it’s impossible to create a resume as a high school student headed to college. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be!

We’ve helped thousands of high school students craft awesome resumes and master writing a great cover letter for that college job over the years, which is why we’ve created this guide with everything you need to know—starting with three sample high school student for college resumes.

or download as PDF

Related resume examples

• High school teacher
• English teacher
• Middle school teacher
• Social science teacher
• High school student

The Most Important Part: Skills & Work Experience

As a high school student, you may be short on career experience, but you can use this section to focus on all the skills you’ve gained from the activities that keep you busy!

Your goal here is to show that you’re a motivated go-getter, and you can use the skills section to do just that. Start by reading the job description carefully to see what kind of skills they might want, like verbal communication, time management, or research.

Then, think about what skills you’ve picked up from school clubs, after-school activities, odd jobs, or errands, and write those down. If you’re stuck, ask a friend: sometimes the skills may seem so obvious to you that you’ll forget to include it!

9 Best High School Student for College Skills

• Customer service
• Microsoft Office
• Social media marketing
• Determination/diligence
• Research/analytics
• Bilingualism
• Time management
• Collaboration

Sample High School Student for College Work Experience Bullet Points

So you’ve gotten the skills section out of the way. Now, you want to focus on letting your previous experience shine.

Sure, you may not have worked as a teen in a traditional 9-to-5 yet, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have the chops. So how can you convince the recruiter you can do what it takes as a high school student looking for a college job?

Focus on impact (using metrics) from previous roles like volunteer work, internships, regular chores, extracurricular activities, or side gigs. Showcase using numbers the impact you had. Recruiters will clearly see that you know what’s important, and more importantly know how to measure it.

Let’s look at a few examples:

• Started an Eastern European Literature club as a freshman, recruiting 35+ members in the first semester
• Assisted in fundraising events for inner-city kids, helping raise $40,000 in 2 weeks
• Founded and ran a comedy page on Instagram and TikTok, reaching 5 million views and 23,000 followers
• Surpassed sales targets by 6-9% on a weekly basis by upselling appetizers and desserts to diners

Top 5 Tips for Your High School Student for College Resume

• A career objective can help your resume stand out when you’re a high school student, but only if it’s not impactful. Clearly demonstrate your achievements and drive, and mention where you see yourself within the company you’re applying to. If it’s just generic fluff, it’s best to skip it.
• It can be easy to minimize your talents if you’re early on in your career. That’s a mistake! Focus on what makes you unique: are you a polyglot? A math whiz? Top of the class in Computer Science? If it could help you stand out, put it down!
• Conversely, don’t wax poetic when writing your high school student for college resume. It doesn’t need to be a two-page resume. If you’ve got the essentials, you’re good to go. Less is more, and filler will kill your chances of getting interviewed.
• Yes, we’re repeating this! Use your work experience to show what kind of positive impact you’ve had through your previous tasks and responsibilities. Whether it’s chairing class meetings, participating in community activities, or volunteering for a fundraiser, make it clear what your impact was.
• A good resume should be easy on the eyes. Have lots of white space, simple bullet points, and no fancy graphics or images that could mess up your layout. Remember, your resume as a high school student is the first impression your future employer might have of you!

Absolutely! Don’t worry if you haven’t had an internship or worked in retail yet. Focus on volunteer work, your education, extracurricular courses you’ve taken, hobbies, and any other achievements like a strong GPA. Remember, everyone needs to start somewhere.

Sure thing! In fact, it’s better to have less than too much. If you have all the essentials we talked about, then you should be good to go. And remember: recruiters aren’t expecting you to have that much experience out of high school.

All you need to do is make sure any skills the job description asks for are reflected in your resume. Plus, include relevant work experience that aligns with the mindset or profile they’re looking for. And don’t forget to customize your career objective !

How to Write a Resume for College

High school and college students need a resume when applying for academic and career opportunities.

Getty Images

Students should include standardized test scores, Advanced Placement and honors courses, awards, activities and talents that show depth in educational endeavors.

A resume is no longer reserved for after graduation. Students may want to craft one as early as the ninth grade for everything from college admissions to scholarships and internship opportunities.

Impress College Admissions Counselors

Arlene Weintraub Sept. 13, 2017

The resume should continue to evolve over the course of one's academic career, shaped by experiences and reflecting the student's interests and activities, experts say. Both high school and college students should keep a well-polished resume up to date.

"It's a really valuable thing for a student to have," says Kelly Fraser, owner and principal consultant at Green Apple College Guidance & Education, which has offices in Boston and the Washington, D.C., area.

Some colleges require a resume with the application, while others welcome the document in the supplemental materials section. Some internship, scholarship and study-abroad applications also require resumes.

Fraser says a high school resume should be complementary to a college application but students should avoid repetition and cramming all of the same information onto the document.

"Each document that you submit to a college does not have to have everything about you in it, but all of the pieces of the puzzle should come together to make a nice picture," Fraser says.

Resumes for High School Students

While a resume in ninth grade isn't an absolute must, students should at least be thinking about it, says Nancy Polin, president and senior college counselor at Educational Excellence in Florida. "It doesn't have to be a formal resume, but I recommend that they start some sort of formal record-keeping system in the summer before ninth grade," Polin says.

Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz, founder and director of adMISSION POSSIBLE in California, sees resumes as pieces of information that allow students to communicate who they are.

"More and more, college admissions officers are now looking for how and where people spend their time, including the quality, depth and length of involvement," Shaevitz says, noting that the value of a good resume is the ability to compile this information succinctly.

She recommends that students include standardized test scores, if available, Advanced Placement and honors courses, awards, activities and talents that show depth in educational endeavors. Grade point averages and other accomplishments also should be highlighted, such as leadership roles and work experience.

"Colleges want to know who you are," Shaevitz says, adding that the same is true for students who may have family responsibilities such as caring for younger siblings or working.

"There are many students who have to work, who have to go home to family responsibilities. Colleges understand that, and (students) should put those on their resume," Fraser says.

And in the time of COVID-19, when many extracurriculars melted away during the pandemic, colleges want to know how students waxed creative. What opportunities did they pursue on their own? What interests emerged during the pandemic? As one example, Shaevitz points to virtual dance classes created by two of her students with the aim of bringing the arts to underpriveleged kids.

Experts advise high school students to mine their entire academic career for experiences and accomplishments.

Yuridia Nava, who works in college and career counseling for the Riverside County Office of Education in California, wrote in an email that she asks her students to reflect all the way back to kindergarten for their experiences, urging them to consider lengthy volunteer commitments and passions they've held for years.

Advisers also insist on sincerity, cautioning students to not embellish their resumes.

"If you're applying to a college and you're submitting anything in your application that's not true, then it's a big problem," Fraser says, adding that students also should avoid listing experiences that they will have trouble talking about in a college admissions interview .

Nava also cautions students against including social media profiles "unless it's clean of any negative images or memes" and to avoid using email addresses with unprofessional language.

Resumes for College Students

Experts encourage college students to continue to build their resume and keep it current with recent and relevant experiences. As they gain skills through classes and student organizations, those should be added to their resume, as should job experiences.

Jeremy Fisher, director of the John P. Fahey Career Center at Creighton University in Nebraska, says resumes for college students may be more career-specific than in high school.

"A college-level resume will be more focused on relevant experiences, skills, leadership, service and other activities that may be more important to a potential employer," Fisher wrote in an email.

For high school and college resumes alike, students should follow many of the same rules. Experts emphasize writing clearly and concisely, personalizing the resume for applications, proofreading diligently for spelling and grammar, and soliciting feedback. Resumes should also contain clearly identifiable information so readers know who is presenting themselves and how to contact them.

Experts also encourage students to keep it simple and straightforward, avoiding flashy text or graphics. Generally, they suggest a one-page resume as the standard for college students, though a high school activities resume may have some leeway to stretch a bit longer.

"Employers scan and review resumes very quickly – typically in 15 to 30 seconds or less initially, so it is important to have a resume that looks professional (style, format, font, etc.) and is very easy to read," Fisher says. "The use of proper spacing, bullet points for descriptions, bolding, underlining, or italicizing important information such as the resume categories, school, degree, major, employer name, job titles, etc. is very helpful."

Some consultants and counselors provide model resumes for students to follow, though templates are typically discouraged at the college level, according to Fisher.

Fisher says templates can be helpful as a guide, but resumes created from templates are not unique and don't stand out.

"Why would you want your resume to look exactly like hundreds of others?" he says.

Creighton lists guidance on its website showing resume examples for those early in their academic careers as well as those in graduate and professional programs. For first- and second-year students, Creighton's career center offers a simple one-page example that focuses on education, including major and GPA, experience, and activities and service.

Whether for high school or college, experts stress the need to have a resume handy.

"The earlier a student has a professional resume developed," Fisher says, "the more ready they will be to pursue opportunities as they arise."

Steps to Building a Resume

Need to develop a resume for college admissions or other oppotunities? Use the basic details below as a starting point.

• Identify activities and accomplishments to include.
• Detail relevant academic accomplishments and work, internship or volunteer experience.
• Include high school or college information and contact details.
• Verify key dates and details for accuracy.
• Spell check and proofread.

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The Admissions Strategist

How to write a high school resume: the ultimate guide (multiple templates included).

A high school resume is an organized, professional-looking document. It lists your education, achievements, qualifications, work experience, skills, and awards.

Some colleges require a resume for admissions , but all internships and jobs require at least a resume when applying. You might even submit a resume for scholarships.

• The resume advice in this article can be used for your college applications, internships, and jobs.

If you’re in high school, you should start building your resume right now. This will make it much easier to upgrade your resume over the next few years.

You’re going to use a resume for the rest of your professional life . Make sure to update it with pertinent information and new experiences.

Let’s first start with some frequently answered questions students ask about high school resumes.

How important is a high school resume for college applications?

Your resume usually will not lead to an acceptance or outright rejection.

But, a well-formatted high school resume can help you make your case for an acceptance.

In the same manner, a poorly formatted resume with plenty of grammar mistakes and lies can undermine your chances of an acceptance.

• Why? Admissions officers want to admit students show curiosity for the university. A student submitting a sloppy resume is showing her lack of interest in her application.

Undergraduate business, BS/MD , and honors programs frequently request a high school resume along with the application.

• In this case, the resume is more important than usual, so be sure to take your time and format it correctly (scroll down to find out how to format a resume).

Your application, essays, and transcript are more important to college applications than a resume is. With that said, if you’re submitting a resume or the college asks for one, you must submit a high-quality resume.

Is there an official high school resume template?

No. A high school resume comes in many forms, so you have many choices to choose from.

For high school students applying for college, internships, and jobs, you should embrace the best approaches for high school resumes.

Click above to watch a video on High School Resumes.

What is the best approach to writing a resume?

The best resumes are concise and packed with substantive information .

Remember, admissions officers and hiring managers are busy people, so you need to include pivotal information in your high school resume while wording your accomplishments in a concise and pithy manner.

Last, your resume needs to be formatted correctly. A resume that is formatted properly is easy on the eyes and, thus, will be much more enjoyable to read.

• Admissions officers and hiring managers are more likely to pay attention to resumes that are easy to scan and absorb.

Remember these four things when writing your high school resume:

• The wording must be concise
• All relevant information should be included
• Resume formatting should make for an easy and pleasurable read; anything that looks sloppy will reflect badly on you
• Try to keep the resume as close to one-page long. Over one page is OK for high school resumes, but it’ll be frowned upon later in your career.

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Should i use an online template for my resume.

As a resume expert, I strongly recommend that you avoid copy and pasting online templates.

Why? Each student is different. What might work for someone else won’t work for you.

• Some students have a great record of academic achievements but a sparse record of extracurricular activities.
• Some are business-oriented, while others are liberal arts-oriented.

This means you should format your resume from scratch. Not only will you construct a resume that is customized to your needs, but you’ll also build resume skills that you’ll keep forever. These skills will come in handy in college and beyond.

How do I format my high school resume?

You should follow a few general rules when formatting your resume for college admissions, internships, and jobs.

• Use Times New Roman or Cambria on your resume. These fonts are easy to read.
• Regular font should be size 10-12. Headings should be at least two points larger than your font.
• Separate each section (Contact, education, experience, skills) with a heading that is underlined and/or bolded.
• Keep margins at 1 inch. If you need to shorten the length of the resume, .5 margins are OK. Anything less takes a toll on the eyes.

What information should my high school resume include?

In a nutshell, your high school resume should include:

• Contact info: Name, email, phone number, address
• Education: high school name, GPA, test scores, class rank, coursework, achievements and honors
• Experience: Work, volunteer, and extracurricular qualifications
• Skills: Computer expertise, foreign languages

How do I format each section?

You now know what makes a great resume. Now, let’s dive into the specifics.

This is how you format each section.

Your name should be centered at the very top in bold. The font size can match your headings, or your name can be a point or two larger than the headings.

This information will go right underneath your name.

Include the name you used on your college application.

Underneath your name, put your cell phone number and professional email address.

Format your cell phone correctly. That means you have two options:

• There will be parenthesis around your area code and a hyphen after the first three digits of the number. Example – (536) 276-6690
• No parenthesis at all but with hyphens after the area code and first three digits of the number. Example – 536-276-6690

If your current email address [email protected], it’s time to create a new email. Use Gmail, since it’s secure and works with the G Suite platform, which you’ll use extensively in college.

A safe email is one that includes your first name initial, last name, and the last two digits of your birth year. For example:

[email protected]

Last, you can put your home address if you so choose. Including your home address is not mandatory.

The name and contact sections will look like this:

Todd Gurley [email protected] | (536) 276-6690 30 McVay Avenue Los Angeles, CA

You don’t need an objective section. Most objectives are common sense. They are clichés that provide no value to the document.

The education section is easy as long as you know your academic information. Follow these steps.

List your high school, location, and your graduation date:

Black Horn High School, Bastion Ridge, South Carolina (Graduation: June 2021)

Underneath that, put your GPA (unweighted/weighted), and your best test scores:

GPA: 3.45/4.2 | SAT: 1350 | SAT II Math: 710 | SAT II US History: 680

Then, list your honors right under your GPA. Below your honors, write “Coursework:” and input your highest, most prestigious classes. If you’re applying for an internship or industry-specific job opportunity, you can put related coursework.

Coursework: AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP World History , Spanish Honors

If you’re a freshman, sophomore, or junior, you can also add a “Projected Coursework” section, in which you’ll add courses you’re bound to take next year.

Additionally, students of all grade levels should add an “Awards” section. List your awards under “Coursework/Projected Coursework.” Here’s how it’d look:

Awards: AP Scholar, FRC National Champion, National Honors Society, Musk Receipient of Excellence in Robotics, DECA Achievement Award

When you finish this section, this is how it’ll look:

Black Horn High School, Bastion Ridge, South Carolina (Graduation: June 2021) GPA: 3.45/4.2 | SAT: 1350 | SAT II Math: 710 | SAT II US History: 680 Coursework: AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP World History , Spanish Honors Awards: AP Scholar, FRC National Champion, National Honors Society, Musk Receipient of Excellence in Robotics, DECA Achievement Award

Now comes the fun part. The quality of this section will determine the overall strength of your resume. You want to remember several critical tips before you dive into this section.

First, your experience headings need to be evenly formatted.

• Keep necessary elements italicized.
• Don’t bold everything for the sake of emphasis.
• You should have two or more bullet points per qualification.
• When writing the location (“city, state”) of your qualification, make sure it’s formatted the same as your “city, state” in your contact section. As such, if your contact section has “Washington, DC,” then don’t add periods in “DC” in your “Experience” section. In general, watch out for inconsistencies when adding periods in state abbreviations – stick to one version: with or without periods.

Second, your bullet points should be neatly formatted.

• All bullets should be fragments beginning with action verbs . You are not writing in the first person (e.g. “I collaborated”).
• Bullets should not end with periods.
• Choose specific action verbs. Try to avoid using weak action verbs, such as “worked,” “assisted,” and “helped,” among others.
• Action verbs should be in the past tense (e.g. “collaborated” and “managed”) unless you’re describing an experience that you’re a part of right now. In that case, your action verbs should be in the first-person singular tense (e.g. “collaborate” and “manage”).
• The roles you had most recently should be at the top. This means you’re following reverse chronological order.
• If you want to combine similar activities into one bullet point, separate them with a semicolon.

Third, your bullet points can include any of the following:

• Summer jobs
• Volunteer activities
• Community service
• Extracurricular activities
• Internships
• Informal jobs (babysitting)

Fourth, bullet points should be specific. Try to tell a story. Include results.

• Include numbers, figures, percentages, or anything else that will help you demonstrate your ability to procure results.
• If you’re having trouble thinking of details to include, think of the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your job duties.
• Remember, the admissions officer and hiring manager don’t know who you are, so it’s your job to paint a picture of your qualifications.

Here are great examples of bullet points in high school resumes:

Managed four team members during two-hour shifts, resulting in 100% customer-satisfaction rate Collaborated with supervisor to create 100 cards for cancer patients over 30-day span Created sandwiches and addresses customer concerns during lunch rushes five days per week; utilized slicer, Panini press, and cash register to facilitate customer requests Guarded 20 students per swimming session; instructed three students during daily one-on-one swimming classes, resulting in a 100% graduation rate

Hint : You can use these bullet points in the extracurricular activities section on your college application.

Does that make sense? Good. Let’s look at what a properly formatted experience section looks like.

• Write the workplace or club name on the top line.
• Next to it, write the location.
• On the next line, write your position in italics.
• Next to your position, write the date (month year – month year) during which you worked in that position. Writing out the entire month is not important; what matters is sticking to the format for all your experiences.
• The bullet points go under the position and date.

For example:

SM Pediatrics and Healthcare, Portland, OR Intern , September 2018-December 2018

• Coordinated daily appointments and schedule at the front desk for over 50 patients
• Facilitated insurance paperwork and co-pays to guarantee patient satisfaction
• Created new filing system for office staff, resulting in 30 minutes of saved time; integrated Trello into office project management by leading tutorials on the platform

Repeat this several times until you’ve addressed each one of your pertinent activities, work experiences, and engagements.

This section usually focuses on two elements: computer and language.

Next to “Computer:” list the things you can do well using, you guessed it, a computer. This can range from coding to graphic design to PowerPoint to CMS to software.

Under the computer section, you’ll input “Language:” if you know any foreign languages. List them by naming the language and, in brackets, give the level at which you know it. There are four levels to foreign languages:

• Native or bilingual proficiency – You can read and write fluently; you can do business and live in a foreign country with your skills
• Professional working proficiency – You can do business in the language but aren’t aware of every cultural norm
• Limited working proficiency – You can read and write here and there but wouldn’t be able to do business fluently.
• Elementary proficiency – You can barely read or write but can steer a conversation every now and then

All told, the “Skills” section should look like this:

Computer: HTML, SQL, Java, WordPress, Wix, Python, PHP, Adobe Photoshop, MS Office Suite, Wave, Trello, Slack, Quickbooks, MailChimp, Stripe, PayPal Language: Spanish [Professional working proficiency)], French [Elementary proficiency]

Saving and Sending the Resume

Always save your professional documents (cover letter, resume, writing samples transcripts) in PDF. Name the document as [first name]_[last name]_[document type]:

Todd_Gurley_Resume

Underscores are your safest bet when naming a resume. They render your resume easy to organize so admissions officers and hiring managers don’t lose track of them.

Moving Forward: Upgrading the Resume

Over the years, you should update your resume. Spend 30 minutes every few months adding experiences and job duties that will help you attain your next opportunity.

• As you grow older, your resume will need to be more specialized.

This means you’ll need to add more experiences, duties, qualifications, skills, and credentials that relate to your industry and desired position.

Between senior year of high school and college, your resume will look completely different.

• In order to ensure you’re updating (or upgrading!) you resume correctly, use the notepad in your smartphone to record your job tasks and duties.
• If you were asked to do something new, expand your skill set , or develop talents, you need to add these in your resume.
• The notepad in your smartphone will be a useful resource for when you sit down to upgrade your resume – it will keep your memory fresh and prevent you from hitting writer’s block.

As an exercise, spend a few minutes every year perusing your notepad, witnessing your professional growth .

Expert Resume Advice

Over time, we’ll add expert resume advice below.

Here’s what Vic Lindsay, director of student life at Sweet Briar College, has to say about your resume:

Our role as educators is to give students the skills they need to be successful in future endeavors. When I make hiring decisions, I’m searching for students who want to be molded and who are looking for more than just a paycheck. When you’re ready to move out into the real employment world, your resume should be focused on skills you obtained and achievements that show leadership and initiative. Don’t tell me what you were, tell me what you’ve done. Show me where previous supervisors have trusted you with significant responsibility and that you lived up to those expectations.

High School Resume Templates: Great Samples

Finally, if you were looking for outstanding samples of high school resumes, I got your back.

As I mentioned before, don’t just copy and paste your items into the resume.

Instead, take the time to scrutinize action verbs and bullet-point formation.

Check to see if the grammar and data make sense.

Here are your templates:

High_School_Resume_Template

High_School_Resume_Template_2

High_School_Resume_Template_3

You can also look at them below. Enjoy!

High School Resume Template 1

High School Resume Template 2

High School Resume Template 3

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15 Impressive Resume Examples for High School Students

Put your best foot forward.

Many professionals struggle to write a strong resume, even after years in the workforce. It’s not surprising, therefore, that it’s even harder for those with limited work experience. That’s why we put together this list of resume examples for high school students. They need it!

According to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics , teens are experiencing the highest employment rate since 2008. In May 2022, 5.5 million U.S. teens ages 16 to 19 held jobs, and by summer 2023, analysts predict “that the share of 16- to 19-year-olds working this season will rise to 33.6 percent, from 32.7 percent last year.” Use these templates, which are perfect for students applying f or jobs, college admissions, or scholarships, to edge out the competition!

What To Include on High School Students’ Resumes

When you don’t have years of work experience to showcase, what should you include on your resume? Here are some ways to put your best foot forward.

• Highlight academic strengths.
• Mention extracurricular activities including clubs, sports, and volunteerism.
• List any honors, awards, or other achievements.
• Emphasize leadership experience.
• Share projects or gigs, including any internships.
• Include a “Skills” section and list computer skills, soft skills, or language skills.
• If your hobbies and/or interests are relevant to a job, include those as well. 

Resume Examples for High School Students

High school student resume templates and examples.

These helpful resume templates and examples are perfect for high school students trying to land their first job or internship. This resource shares tips on how to make a great impression. 

Resume with no experience: first job examples

Trying to land a job with no work experience? No problem! This template offers an ideal resume for high school student applicants who are entering the workforce for the first time.  

Resume for a part-time job

For students looking for a part-time job, their high school resume needs to reflect their availability. This sample offers guidance for creating a resume that sends the right message. 

Experienced high school student resume

Multiple work experience examples should be listed on an experienced high school student resume, so you might need to change the layout to make everything fit nicely.

McDonald’s resume

While this resume specifically highlights McDonald’s, it could easily be modified for any fast-food chain. The important thing is that students’ work history includes customer service and interpersonal skills and the ability to take orders, prepare food, accept payments, keep a restaurant clean, and more. 

Customer service resume

Hiring supervisors are aware of and anticipate the fact that you may not have much work experience as a high school student, but this template will help tailor your resume to the demands specified in the customer service job description.

Camp counselor resume

If you’ve ever worked as a camp counselor (or similar leadership role), you likely have a well-rounded set of skills. This resource provides tips and examples of how to list your achievements and abilities in a way to stand out above the competition. 

High school student sales resume

Writing a high school student sales resume can be challenging, especially if you have little professional experience. One solid strategy is having numbers on your side. This great template will help you get started!

Athlete resume

Depending on the student, athletics can make up a huge part of their high school experience. Should athletics be mentioned on a resume? If it’s relevant to the job or if a student was a stand-out athlete, gained leadership skills, or was recognized for their great attitude and/or outstanding abilities, this guide will show you how to include it.

High school graduate resume

Once students graduate, they’ll either be continuing their education or heading into the workforce (or both!). This great, straightforward high school resume is perfect when applying for their first real job. 

College resume for high school students

The future is bright, which is why high school students need to focus on creating a college admissions resume that will really make an impression. These tips and samples offer clear guidance on how to make a college application truly shine. 

High school student office worker resume

It’s alright if a high school office worker resume isn’t packed with noteworthy achievements. Instead, list any project that highlights your leadership qualities or relevant skills you’ve acquired along the way!

Scholarship resume

You already know that college tuition is expensive. There are plenty of scholarships out there, but the competition is fierce. This high school resume template focuses on academic achievements while highlighting skills, professional experience, and career objectives to help students stand out from the crowd. 

High school student music resume

Of course you want to highlight any musical work you’ve done, whether it’s in school or professionally. Also highlight lessons, achievements, and interests that showcase your love and passion for music. This template will give you a good idea of where to begin!

Internship resume

It can be tough to find a decent internship as a college student, which is why high school students should start looking before they graduate. These types of jobs might not come with a paycheck, but the rewards are immeasurable in terms of experience. This template offers tips for writing a strong resume for an internship position. 

Do you have more great resume examples for high school students? Share them in the comments below.

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10+ Free High School Resume Templates for 2024

Writing your high school resume is already hard as it is - you shouldn’t have to spend hours working on your resume layout and format.

Want to fast-track your resume-creation process?

Use one of these 10+ free high school resume templates!

All you have to do is pick a template that resonates with you and fill in the contents. Zero formatting hassle is required!

10+ Free High School Resume Templates [Pick & Download]

#1. simple resume template.

This timeless layout works for everyone - highschoolers and seasoned professionals alike. 

The understated design and clean look put equal emphasis on all parts of your resume.

#2. Professional Resume Template

The Professional template puts more emphasis on your work experience and skills. Don’t have much work experience? You can always replace it with some other relevant section like extracurricular activities or volunteering experience.

#3. College Resume Template

Created with recent graduates in mind, this template is also suitably structured for any applicant with little to no work experience. 

#4. Creative Resume Template

If you’re looking for a job in the creative industry or want to try something a bit bolder, the Creative template is right for you. It’s guaranteed to stand out in any resume pile with its light on dark header and circle style skill graphs. 

#5. Modern Resume Template

The Modern template is a step up from the more basic designs. It has an organized look featuring brackets and squares.

#6. Functional Resume Template

The Functional Resume template puts more emphasis on your educational background, making it a perfect fit for highschoolers or just about anyone with no work experience.

#7. One Color Resume Template

This template is quite simple and to-the-point. The sections are clearly separated, and the resume objective is located top and center. Bonus points: you can even personalize this high school resume template by customizing the color scheme.

#8. Two-Column Resume Template

The template has a rather unique two-column resume structure . It is easy to skim and pleasant to look at. 

It also has a very compact look, making it perfect for job-seekers with no work experience.

#9. Vertical Header Resume Template

What’s interesting about this template is the vertical layout in the header section. It looks refreshing and straight-up cool. However, it’s a hit or miss kind of situation. The recruiter will either be intrigued by it, or be bothered by having to turn the page to the side. Use at your own risk.

#10. Infographic Resume Template

Infographic resume templates in general use graphs and charts to illustrate the information. This template in particular uses bubbles to portray skills and level of competence, as well as icons to illustrate interests. This makes the resume quick to skim through and the information easy to understand. 

How Long Should a High School Resume Be?

The resume length discussion has been going on for ages and typically, the answer tends to vary depending on industry and years of experience. 

When it comes to a high school resume, however, there’s no room for discussion: your resume should be one-page max. 

It’s justifiable to have a two-page resume in case you have, say 10+ years of experience in the industry (which you don’t).

If your draft resume ends up being longer, revise your content with a critical eye and cut out anything that’s not relevant for the job you’re applying for.

Remember: the recruiter wants to know what your top skills and experiences are, not your entire life story!

What Should I Include In My High School Resume?

In your high school resume, include the following sections:

• Contact Information - This consists of personal and contact information like first and last name, phone number, e-mail address, or links to other profiles. Make sure everything is written correctly so the recruiter can reach you back.
• Resume Objective - This is a 3-4 sentence statement that describes your career goals and aspirations as well as mentions your skills and achievements. It’s used to grab the recruiter’s attention and ensure that they read the rest of your resume.
• Education - You can already guess what this one’s about, right? You should list down your education institution (high school) as well as any academic-related certifications or achievements.
• Extracurricular Activities - This is your resume’s selling point. The equivalent of work experience, if you will. Your extracurriculars are usually participation in high school clubs or various events and they show the recruiter you’re a competent and engaged individual.
• Projects & Gigs - In this section, you’d mention any independent projects you’ve worked on outside of academics. For example, a side-gig or your own blog - anything that shows you’re a self-starter.
• Work Experience (optional) - If you have any, you can list your work experiences. An internship or volunteer work also qualifies for this section.
• Languages - An extra language or two will definitely give you an edge over the other candidates. So, if you’re good at languages, make sure to list a dedicated section for that!
• Hobbies & Interests - Choose a few things that will give the recruiter some insight into your personality. Bonus points if these hobbies and interests are related to the industry where you’re applying - they’ll show you’re passionate and genuinely interested in the job.

And that’s about it!

How to Create a High School Resume With No Work Experience?

You’ve probably heard of the famous trope:

“You need work experience to get a job, but a job to get work experience.”

Fortunately, it’s not actually true.

If you’re applying for an entry-level position in any field, no one’s actually expecting you to have work experience.

Instead, you can focus on the experiences you do have to stand out from the rest of the applicants. Some things you can include in your resume are:

• Extracurricular activities
• Projects & gigs
• Hobbies & interests
• Internships

Key Takeaways

And that’s about it on high school resume templates!

If you want to know more about what to write and how to write it, check out our in-depth guide to writing a high school resume .

Before you go your way, let’s go over the main points of this article one more time:

• Always use a high school resume template instead of working on your resume from scratch - trust us, it’s going to save you a lot of time.
• Stick to the one-page resume limit. The recruiter wants to know about your work experience, not about your entire life story.
• Instead of work experience, focus on alternative sections like extracurricular activities, projects, volunteering experience, and so on.

Discover More Resume Templates

• Word Resume Templates
• Google Docs Resume Templates
• Chronological Resume Templates
• One Page Resume Templates
• Combination Resume Templates
• Creative Resume Templates
• 2 Page Resume Templates
• Minimalistic Resume Templates

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Sample High School Resumes for College Applications

Valerie is an experienced writer and editor with an extensive backgrounds in health, education, parenting, and nonprofit operations.

Learn about our Editorial Policy .

If you want to apply to a traditional, four-year college, get a leg up on scholarship applications or make the college application process is easier, you need a high school resume. Creating a resume can help you pull together all your information in one spot so you can easily summarize your high school career.

Samples Based on Real Students

The following two samples each have a unique format and highlights based on the career and college goals of two different students. To download, click on the image of the sample you want and use. Each sample is customizable so you can create a resume that truly represents you. If you have issues, see the troubleshooting guide for online printables.

• 7 Senior Bio Examples to Help You Craft Your Own

STEM-Oriented Narrative Resume

This resume template is narrative in nature, meaning that it offers some explanation as to the nature of the activities the student engaged in. In addition, it makes a point to highlight test scores and difficult coursework - both of which are important to STEM programs.

Use this template if you:

• Want to highlight your grades, sports, coursework, or test scores
• Have awards or leadership that you want to explain
• Are a stellar writer

Liberal Arts Traditional Resume

Students going to a more humanities-based program might appreciate a resume that looks more traditional in nature. It highlights important details from the students time in high school without being too wordy.

• Have a lot of leadership experience within your extracurriculars that you want to highlight
• Have a lot of extracurriculars that will take up a full page
• Do not have a lot of categories to include but have a lot of things in one category

What You Should Include

You need to think about your resume as the prime real estate of your high school career. What is most outstanding about you as a student? The resume is a time to showcase both things that make you stand out, as well as information you think makes you an especially attractive student. You should always make sure your resume is no more than one page and include a variety of information.

• Basics - Make sure you include your name and contact information.
• Academics - You'll generally want to include your GPA and class rank and SAT or ACT scores. You might want to include the nature of your studies (ie Honors, AP, or IB) if they are essential to your intended major.
• Extracurriculars - Include things you are passionate about, spent a lot of time on, or are related to a future field of study.
• Sports Accomplishments - If sports was a major part of your high school career or if you plan to play in college, you should have a section devoted to your leadership and accomplishments.
• Leadership positions - This may or may not be a separate section. It is okay to discuss leadership and extracurriculars together if that makes sense for the formatting of your resume.
• Volunteer Service - You may want to note how many hours per week something took in addition to any initiative you took to make these things happen.
• Summer Activities - The most highly competitive programs are hoping you took the summers to engage in learning activities. Whether it's language camp, extra classes, or something else that's interesting, if you used your time off for learning - make sure and note that.
• Honors and Awards - If you won a major national award such as an Honor Society, or if the award is self-explanatory in its title (ie Principal's Award for Academic Excellent), you do not need to explain these. However, if you won something that might not be familiar to everyone reading your resume, make sure to add a brief explanation.
• Additional Skills - Fluent in German or even Elvish? Go ahead and note it on your resume. If you love to garden or took classes as a natural illustrator - note that too. Not everything on your resume has to be leadership positions held or awards won.
• Things related to your major - If you have had a major accomplishment related to something you want to study, note it separately. This could be research, field study or any other award.

Arts Majors Take Note

Arts majors, whether they are performing or visual, will often be allowed two page resumes. One page will be academic and extracurricular accomplishments, and the other page will list your most important accomplishments in the arts as a high school student. Each area of the arts frequently has a different way they handle resumes, and different schools may ask for the information differently. If you are giving the resume to a school on your application, it is best to contact them in advance and ask how they want the information formatted.

What Not to Do on Your Resume

There are not a lot of ground rules when it comes to writing your high school resume. You can and should include anything that you think is relevant to you as a student. However, there are a few things you should avoid to make sure your resume stands out. Students should be careful not to:

• Embellish or fib - It might be tempting to make yourself stand out more by embellishing a leadership position or saying you were involved in something when really you attended one meeting - but don't. Colleges want to know who you are, not who you wish you were.
• Highlight negative information - If you weren't a top student, focus on how you've improved your grades over the last few years rather than just giving a GPA. If you have high test scores but mediocre GPA, put the test scores higher on the resume.
• Include more than one page - If you have so much information that it takes up two pages, you have to choose your highlights. (Except for arts students, see above.)
• It's part of an ongoing theme (ie you are an Olympic hopeful fencer and you've been doing that since you were 8 years old)
• You won a major, nationally or internationally known award (ie you were won the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 7th grade)
• Have an immature email handle - If your email address is something like [email protected] - it's time to change it. Some combination of your name or initials generally works best.
• Get too creative with formatting - Format your resume traditionally and don't get too creative. You want someone to be able to look at it quickly and feel like they have a good grasp of who you are. Fancy colors, perfumed paper, or anything similar is not appropriate.

When to Use a Resume

There are a variety of reasons why doing a resume is a great idea. You can use it in lots of places, and it's becoming the 'norm' that students have them.

• Having all of your accomplishments, volunteer work and other opportunities in one place is incredibly handy when you start filling out college and scholarship applications. If for no other reason, create one so you have the information gathered for you.
• While attending college fairs, you can give a representative your resume. You should do this only if you're genuinely interested in the school. If they accept it, they will start a file on you in their admissions office. ( Tip : Add a QR code to your resume. An admissions person is often happy to scan the information right into her phone.)
• If you are interested in playing sports or taking part of a team that represents the university (ie like Model UN or debate), give your resume to your potential coach as a way to introduce yourself.
• Asking for a letter of recommendation? Whoever you're asking knows you from one place, so giving that person your resume helps give them a better snapshot and can also ensure they get dates right. Nothing looks worse than you saying you've known your coach for three years when they say they've known you for two.
• You can give your resume to an advisor or professor at a school if you're very interested in a particular major. Only do this if you've accomplished something noteworthy related to that major.
• Likewise, give your resume, as a freshman in college, to a professor with whom you're interested in doing research. This helps give them information on your background when you don't necessarily have a lot of experience.
• Use your resume for college interviews. This often helps the interview be less awkward because now the interviewer has a sheet to refer to for questions.
• A lot of scholarship applications ask either for a resume or for all the information on it. If you plan on applying for money, keep this handy for quicker applications.

Will a Resume Get You In?

A resume won't necessarily get you into the college of your dreams. However, it shows people that you are a serious and capable person who really wants to be a contributor to the campus. Use your resume wisely, and at the very least, it will help make the process less stressful for you.

High School Resume Example and Step-by-Step Guide

by Winning Ivy Prep Team | Feb 7, 2023 | High School Resume

Table of Contents

So, it’s time to write your first high school resume for college applications. Maybe you’re inclined to Googling high school resume examples and step-by-step guides to create your own. But templates are generic–you’re not!

Remember that ultimately, a resume tells a story–the story of you. Like all well-told stories, it must be formatted thoughtfully and clearly or the narrative is lost. 

So, let’s dive straight in. 

Do Colleges Require A Resume?

Short answer: Nope!

Longer answer: Might be a good idea, depending on your situation. 

Keep in mind that some schools don’t even allow you to upload a resume, while others do. For instance, my alma mater, University of Pennsylvania allows you to upload a resume. Many Ivy League and top tier schools also have this option, from Cornell or Johns Hopkins .

Our general rule of thumb is this: 

• If you have a ton of activities and extracurriculars that can’t be succinctly summarized in the activity list 
• If you have competitive schools in your college list — at least one of them will give you the option to upload a resume.

…then it’s not a bad idea to have a college application resume to upload, just in case. Plus, it’ll be useful to secure summer internships and receive scholarships this way. 

Ivy League College Resume Example + Resume Template

Now, take a look at this resume example for an Ivy League-bound student. We’ll be using his example throughout this post.

Also, here’s a Google Doc that links to this student’s exact resume template that you can use for your own resume!  

By the way, these templates are modified versions of UC Berkeley’s resume templates, so, obviously, they’re quite good 😉

How To Create A Compelling High School Resume For College Applications

1. clean contact information section on your college resume.

Refer to our high school resume example: Sam’s name is in bold, centered at the top of the page; his e-mail address is directly underneath. That’s it!

Your name and e-mail address are the only contact information needed. If you have a website, particularly one that showcases your personality, include that too. 

Again, the ideal high school resume is clean and simple. There is no need for a brick and mortar address or phone number. 

2. Don’t Include Coursework In The Education Section

As you can see in our high school resume example, there are only six items in the education section and none are coursework. In this instance, coursework is clutter. 

The only items needed in the education section are the following: 

• school name and location
• class rank 
• class year 
• SAT scores 

Bear in mind: you’re the narrator of your own story, so be smart about the information you include. Remember the goal of a resume is to market yourself, so paint yourself favorably. 

…in other words, if your SAT scores are lower than you’d like, leave them off! The ideal high school resume is carefully curated.

3. Relevant Experience Means Relevant To Major

Perhaps you’re a dedicated and gifted cellist. Let’s be frank, unless you’re looking to major in music theory, that does not belong in the “relevant experience” category. 

So, what do we mean by “relevant”? We mean this: relevance to major . Are you pursuing computer science and did you intern at a start-up? That’s relevant experience!

Take a look at our sample high school resume. Sam lists three internships (two political, one research.) We can surmise that his major is related to political and environmental sciences. 

Notice that dates are listed as well. In addition to being relevant, experience should be timely. That means you should only include experience attained during high school. 

Don’t go all the way back to middle school. Start with the summer before high school and proceed from there.

4. Use Active Verbs In Your High School Resume

Once you’ve compiled your list of relevant experience, create bullet points detailing your responsibilities using active verbs. Let’s check out Sam’s sample high school resume again. 

Sam’s relevant experience section includes the following active verbs that are quite strong: 

• coordinate 

A ctive verbs show what you DID and showcase your contributions. They tell a vivid story of your ability to take action and illustrate what you bring to the table as a student at your dream college.

If you need inspiration for action verbs, check out this awesome action verb list from UC Berkeley Haas!

5. Activities Unrelated To Your Major Are Extracurriculars  

Once again, reference our sample resume. Sam was a swim coach, a varsity swimmer and co-Captain of the School Science Olympiad Team.

Swimming might not qualify as relevant experience, but it’s still important because well-rounded candidates are strong candidates. 

Basically, any activities unrelated to your major or field of study go in the “Extracurricular Activities/ Volunteering” section.

6. Skills Are Optional And Technical

The skills section is optional, and only to be included if appropriate.

So what are skills? Perhaps you can juggle, for example. While it’s a good party trick, don’t list that here. 

This section is for technical skills, especially if you’re interested in computer science or engineering. For example, proficiency with C++, Java, and R belong here. 

Once again, though, the skills section isn’t applicable to everyone. Remember, there is no need to pad your resume. The ideal high school resume is straightforward and honest!

So, now it’s your turn to write your high school resume. Hint: This is a great exercise to do for your activities list for your UC application and Common Application. Let us know how your resume turned out in the comments section below!

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Applying for college has changed. Use these 7 strategies to ace the process

If you’ve never been to college, or your college days are decades behind you, the admissions process can feel overwhelming. I helped my daughter through it myself in 2020 — a lot has changed in the last four years.

The first step to take may seem obvious, but experts say it’s critical: Talk to your child and make sure college is what they want. There are many good reasons for higher education, but “that’s just what’s expected of me” isn’t one of them.

If your child wants to train for a job that requires higher education, expand their earning potential or pursue education for the sake of learning, college may be the right choice. Here’s what to share with your child about getting to the college campus that’s right for them.

1. Start building your list of schools early

The U.S. has more than 2,500 four-year colleges, so making your list can feel overwhelming.

When you start the process early, you have time to do your research and build a list of colleges that are right for you. You won’t have to apply to a few nearby or big-name schools at the last minute.

“A lot of times, students and families will get to October or November of their senior year and say, ‘OK, now I’m going to start.’ That is far too late,” Anne Zinn, a school counselor at Norwich Free Academy in Norwich, Conn., and a member of the American School Counselors Association , tells TODAY.

If you don’t have any idea where you want to go, visit some representative schools in your area early in your junior year, if possible. Zinn recommends touring a big school, a medium-sized school and a small school. Mix up the setting, too — maybe choose a city, suburban and rural school.

Your goal is to come up with a short list of schools where you’ll apply. Zinn thinks about seven is the sweet spot:

• Two reaches, or long shots
• Two targets, where you’re a good fit
• Two safety schools
• One more you want to mix in, just because

2. Get honest about the cost

The cost of some of the most selective U.S. schools will likely top $100,000 a year by the time today’s high school juniors earn their college degrees. You don’t need to be an honor student to figure out that adds up to nearly $400,000 for four years.

“The college value equation is so much more prominent now than it was even ten years ago,” David Hawkins, chief education and policy officer at the National Association for College Admission Counseling tells TODAY. You’ll want to make sure the cost of college is manageable for you and your family and that you’re applying to schools you can afford.

Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) even if you don’t think you’ll qualify for grants based on financial need. Schools and governments also use the FAFSA as a basis for scholarships, work-study jobs and loans. Apply as soon as you can on or after October 1 — that’s when applications usually open. It’s a good idea to know which schools you want to apply to by then, so you can include them on your form.

3. Connect with the schools on your list

“The best thing you can do is visit if you can,” Zinn says. Don’t just drive around the campus — make an appointment with the admissions office and take an official tour. Ask questions about things that don’t show up on the website. That might be the food, the social scene or even political issues that could influence your decision.

Of course, you probably can’t visit every school on your list — you might not be able to get to any. There are other ways you can connect with schools. A lot of colleges and universities send admission reps to high schools so that you can meet with them. College fairs are another good option. Be sure to introduce yourself to the representatives — don’t just pick up brochures.

“All of that counts as ‘demonstrated interest.’ They keep track of that,” Zinn says.

4. Find out how much virtual learning to expect

As you’re visiting schools and doing your research, look into how many of your classes are online versus in person. You probably spent a lot of time in remote classrooms during COVID, and you know whether you work well in that environment or you do better face-to-face.

“You don’t want to be lulled into a campus where you think everything is in person, and then you’re taking your English class online in your dorm room, especially if you’re paying thousands of dollars to sit in that dorm room,” Zinn says.

5. Show your true colors in your essay

It’s common to struggle with the essay, and that’s understandable. Schools teach students how to write academic papers for years (“never use ‘I’”), and just when you’re starting to get good at them, you need to write something completely different (“write from your own point of view”).

“The essay is an insight into who you are as a student, the experiences that you’ve had, and the background you come from. The admission counselor wants to see you, your personality and your thought process,” Zinn says. “You want to tell a story and show them something about you they’re not going to see anywhere else in the application. This is your opportunity to really showcase your personality.”

Here are a few tips:

• Remember that it’s about you. “Even if the questions are scripted, they are looking to glean something from you,” Hawkins says. For example, if you’re responding to a prompt about someone who inspired you, don’t make the essay entirely about that person. Talk about the difference they made in your life.
• Feel free to talk about your background. Schools can no longer consider race or ethnicity specifically when making admissions decisions, but that doesn’t mean you can’t talk about it. “Your racial or ethnic heritage or background has affected your life and has provided you with insights or other qualities,” Hawkins says. “We encourage students to share everything they want to share about themselves.”
• Let your passion shine through. “Institutions are looking for students who are trying to grow and who have a passion,” Hawkins says. “Share something that makes you tick, feeds your strength and gives you energy.”
• Be specific. Write about the first time you hit a home run, not about baseball, or the origin of your favorite joke, not about comedy.
• Set your mind free. Write down your thoughts first without worrying about how they sound. You can rewrite and edit later.

6. See if it makes sense to skip standardized tests

Before COVID, some schools started to make SATs and ACTs optional, and the pandemic accelerated that change. Lately, however, some schools have reinstated the standardized testing requirement.

So, are they really necessary? It depends. You should take them if:

• You’re applying to a school that requires them. But Zinn and Hawkins say that so far, it’s mainly the most selective schools that require SATs or ACTs. They expect that most other schools will stay test-optional.
• You feel like you would do well on a standardized test, and it would strengthen your application. Zinn encourages students to take a standardized test at least once and see how they do.
• Financial aid from the schools you’re applying to, or from your state, is tied to standardized test scores.

Some states also require all students to take a standardized test. The SAT might take the place of a state 11th-grade exam, for example. In that case, the decision is made for you.

7. Make your application as strong as you can

“The best thing you can do is ensure that you have a strong, well-rounded application,” Zinn says. That means keeping your grades up and being involved in a few different activities, such as sports, clubs or work.

Don’t let your college search and your activities take your focus away from your classes. You can spend a lot of time editing your essay, answering practice SAT questions and looking at college life on TikTok. But high school grades, especially grades in college prep classes, top the “most important” list for college admission decisions.

Stephanie Thurrott is a writer who covers mental health, personal growth, wellness, family, food and personal finance, and dabbles in just about any other topic that grabs her attention. When she's not writing, look for her out walking her dog or riding her bike in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. 

Are you seeking one-on-one college counseling and essay support? Limited spots are now available. Click here to learn more.

How Old is a Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior in High School?

May 3, 2024

How Old are Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors in High School? At what ages do most students in attend high school? Well, in the United States, youth go through four levels of education:

• Early Childhood Education

Elementary School

Middle school, high school.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics , in the fall of 2021 about 49.4 million students were enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools and 5.5 million students were enrolled in private schools. In this article, we’ll first consider each of the four levels of education, including the age ranges for each. Then we’ll dive into the high school years specifically, and what to expect from 9th-12th grade.

Early Childhood Education (ECE)

Typically, early childhood education takes place between the ages of 2-5. Options for early childhood education include both publicly- and privately-funded daycare, preschool, and Head Start services . While parents/guardians are not required by law to pursue early childhood education, the majority of children in the US have participated in some type of non-parental enrichment and/or care program by the age of 5 .

Academic studies indicate that children who participate in high-quality early childhood education programs experience benefits throughout adolescence . For example, according to the Office of the Administration for Children & Families :

• ECE can help children learn the foundational skills for reading, math, self-control, and positive relationships.
• All young children can benefit from ECE, but high-quality programs are especially helpful for children from families experiencing low household income, children with disabilities, and dual-language leaders.
• Participating in ECE programs can yield long-term advantages for individuals and society, including higher educational attainment, better adult health, and decreased involvement in crime.

Usually, children attend elementary school from Kindergarten to 5th grade, although some schools in the US extend elementary school through 6th grade. To some degree, the age range of elementary school students depends on the age at which students begin kindergarten and whether they repeat a grade . Typically, though, students attend elementary school from ages 5 to 10 or 11.

• Kindergarten : On average, students begin kindergarten at age 5. Each state provides different guidelines regarding kindergarten entrance ages . For example, students in California must turn 5 on or before September 1, whereas students in Missouri must turn 5 on or before July 31. If their children are on the younger end of the age range (September 1 birthday, for instance), parents may opt to postpone kindergarten enrollment for a year—until age 6. Moreover, only 20 states technically require kindergarten attendance, and the structures of kindergarten programs can vary, with some districts offering part-time or half-day options.
• 1st Grade: Ages 6-7
• 2nd Grade: Ages 7-8
• 3rd Grade: Ages 8-9
• 4th Grade: Ages 9-10
• 5th Grade: Ages 10-11

Middle school (sometimes called junior high school) starts with 6th or 7th grade and ends with 8th grade. Most students attend middle school from ages 11-13. Unlike elementary school, where children generally learn different subjects from one teacher in a single classroom, middle school students tend to move from classroom to classroom and teacher to teacher throughout the school day. Middle school facilitates the cognitive, social, and academic transition from elementary school to high school, and generally covers the “pre-teen” years. While middle school offers opportunities to develop academic interests, foundational skills, and strong study habits, colleges do not consider middle school grades in admissions .

• 6th Grade: Ages 11-12
• 7th Grade: Ages 12-13
• 8th Grade: Ages 13-14

High School starts with 9th grade and ends with 12th grade. Most students attend high school from ages 14-18 (the bulk of the teenage years), although ages can vary slightly depending on the age at which a student entered elementary school, whether they repeated and/or skipped grades before high school, and their performance and course load during high school. Research suggests that increasing the minimum school-leaving age to 18 both increases high-school graduation rates and improves the life outcomes of students.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to a greater range of variations in high school ages . Typically, though, these age variations extend—at most—about a year in either direction. Therefore, it remains relatively rare for a student to start high school before age 13 or graduate before age 17 or after age 19.

How Old is a Freshman? How Old is a Sophomore? How old is a Junior? How old is a Senior?

That is, in general, do high-school drop-out or early graduation rates affect the average age of high school students? Not really. High school drop-out rates decreased from 8.3% in 2010 to 5.2% in 2021 , and older students who did not graduate from high school tend to pursue a high school equivalency credential such as a GED certificate rather than return to high school.

• 9th Grade: Ages 14-15 (First Year of High School). Traditionally, 14- and 15-year-old high school students are referred to as “freshmen” and 9th grade constitutes a student’s “freshman” year. In recent years, however, there has been a push to refer to 9th grade students as “first-year students” or “first-years” rather than “freshmen.” Although more common at the college level , and in the UK , this semantic shift is increasingly common at the high school level as well, mostly due to pushes for greater gender-inclusivity in language. For example, the “freshmen” vs. “first-year” issue is comparable to stylistic guidelines that recommend referring to “human beings” or “humankind” rather than “mankind.”
• 10th Grade: Ages 15-16 (Second Year of High School). 10th grade students are “sophomores.” The term “sophomore” translates roughly to “wise fool” in ancient Greek. Depending on your perspective, you may find this meaning accurate or offensive! As with “freshman,” “sophomore” has fallen out of favor in the UK (where “second-year” tends to be used instead), but remains the norm in the US.
• 11th Grade: Ages 16-17 (Third Year of High School). 11th grade students are referred to as “juniors.”
• 12th Grade: Ages 17-18 (Fourth and Final Year of High School). 12th grade students are referred to as “seniors” and often fall prey to “senioritis”—particularly after college admission decisions are released. While often used humorously to describe one’s (understandable!) decline in motivation or performance, senioritis can present real challenges and result in unfortunate consequences—including, in severe circumstances, revoked college admission.

First- and second-year students (freshmen and sophomores) tend to be referred to collectively as “lowerclassmen” or “underclassmen,” whereas third- and fourth-year students (juniors and seniors) are “upperclassmen.” Unlike with the first-year vs. freshman matter, gender inclusive terms for these groupings are uncommon, especially at the high school level. The phrases “lower-division” and “upper-division” are gaining traction, however.

What to Expect During Each Year of High School?

The high school years are transformative, and meant to facilitate the transition into adulthood (marked, in the US, by one’s 18th birthday). By the end of high school (or at least by the end of the summer after one’s senior year), most students can:

• Drive legally
• Vote in elections
• Enlist in the military
• Choose to marry without parental consent or judicial approval

Academically, high school is meant to prepare students either for post-secondary education or for entering the workforce. Here is what you might expect during each year:

9th Grade (Freshman)

Your first year of high school is the one with the lowest stakes in terms of your future, although it can set the tone for the rest of your high school experience (and your post-secondary options). During your first-year of high school, focus on:

• Getting acclimated
• Developing strong study habits
• Honing in on your academic interests, including considering your school’s Honors or AP offerings
• Exploring Extracurriculars

10th Grade (Sophomore Year)

Things ramp up your sophomore year of high school, and not just because this is the year many students acquire a valid driver’s license! If your first-year is one of acclimation, your second year tends to be one of planning. During your sophomore year of high school, you might:

• Pursue leadership opportunities via extracurricular activities, athletics, or internships (there are many options— online internships , law internships , business internships , medical internships , etc.)
• Develop a relationship with your high school guidance counselor
• Take the PSAT and/or take the ACT or SAT early for practice (or start preparing for these tests)
• Explore Honors or AP offerings
• Begin a list of colleges in which you are interested and/or start planning or taking college visits

11th Grade (Junior Year)

Things get real during your junior year! If you have post-secondary education goals, this is the year of preparation. You’ll likely:

• Take the SAT and/or the ACT
• Zero in on your academic and career interests, and curate your courses accordingly
• Work with your family and guidance counselor to develop a list of colleges that align with your academic and career interests, as well as your personal inclinations and financial circumstances
• Cultivate relationships with teachers and others from whom you might ask for letters of recommendation
• Take AP Exams
• Continue with extracurriculars and other leadership opportunities
• Brainstorm or even draft your college application essay

12th Grade (Senior Year)

It’s go time! For college-bound seniors, 12th grade is divided into two “before and after” periods: before and after application deadlines and before and after admission decisions. During the first half of senior year, you’ll:

• (Maybe) retake the SAT or ACT
• Finalize your post-high school plans and, if applicable, your list of colleges
• Take any final college visits and consider whether you want to apply early decision or early action
• Write your college application essay(s)
• Request letters of recommendation
• (Probably) submit your college applications, as well as applications for scholarships and financial aid

During the second half of senior year, you might:

• Apply to colleges with late application deadlines
• Consider your college admission offers!
• Continue pursuing scholarships and other financial aid opportunities
• Relax a bit! But not so much that you jeopardize your college admission
• Attend prom, make graduation plans, and generally celebrate milestones
• High School Success

Jordan Conley

Jordan received her BA from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, where she majored in Religious Studies and Classics. Following her undergraduate work, she spent several years teaching elementary school--first in northern Thailand as a fellow with Princeton in Asia, then in Bozeman, Montana. Jordan went on to receive a Master's in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, and is currently working toward completing her PhD at Boston University, focusing on religions of the Ancient Mediterranean.

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Getting in: high schoolers consider college admissions after affirmative action ban.

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This article is one of the winning submissions from the New York Post  Scholars Contest , presented by  Command Education .

The Supreme Court recently issued a decision addressing affirmative action in college admissions stating that race can no longer be a factor in deciding who gets into an institution and who does not. High school seniors across the nation and here at Jericho had strong reactions to the court ruling. Many students of color see this decision as yet another setback in achieving academic success on an even playing field.  

Jericho High School senior Jay P. is very concerned that following the court decision his college experience will be negatively impacted. He is looking forward to attending an institution where he will be among more students of his racial group. Now he fears the opposite will be true. He says, “If I were to go to a high level institution it’s likely that I’ll still see that lack of representation.” 

Jay also believes that affirmative action was helpful in that the policy recognized that race still affects many aspects of life. “I think race and the role it plays in society and education is still a very important, very impactful thing. And to pretend it isn’t, it’s just blind,” he adds.

Jay feels strongly that striking down affirmative action in college admissions suggests the “idea that we’re in a post-racial world, when we’re not.” 

Junior Samara B. feels that removing affirmative action downplays adversities that she’s faced due to her race. She feels strongly that she and other students of color benefit from affirmative action in college admissions because of discrimination already experienced. She says, “I should have been given the advantage as a minority.” 

Junior Selena S. feels that she would have benefited from affirmative action in her application process and is disappointed about its removal. She would prefer to have a section in the application where she could directly verify her race and include this among her many other qualifications. She says, “It will definitely affect my admission process because as a Black American myself, I would like to use that.” 

Senior Ajani S. worries that many minority students will feel discouraged to apply to colleges without affirmative action. “I prefer that it [affirmative action] be kept because taking it out would reduce the amount of applicants that would apply to higher educational programs,” he says. 

Jericho’s Curriculum Associate for School Counseling Mr. Greg Sloan feels that colleges are already taking initiative to promote inclusivity despite the ruling. He says, “Some institutions such as Duke University and University of North Carolina have already taken steps to promote educational equity by offering free tuition to students from families with income below a certain threshold.” 

Jericho High School Guidance counselor Ms. Grebstein is confident that universities will find alternative ways to maintain diverse classes. She says, “They want to be able to still get that information in an authentic way rather than checking off boxes.” 

The University of Virginia’s new supplemental question for the 2023-2024 college admissions process gives applicants the opportunity to mention race as a factor if they so desire. 

However, Hofstra University Constitutional Law Professor Mr. Eric Freedman thinks that affirmative action being struck down will discourage universities from considering diversity during the admissions process in fear of accusations that colleges are going against the Supreme Court decision. He says, “My prediction is that the practical impact is mostly going to be achieved, if at all, by a bunch of high visibility lawsuits that terrify the admissions officers into not exercising their creativity.” 

Further, Professor Freedman believes that “threatened university administrators” will fear that they’re “going to lose all of their federal funds,” if they do decide to take cultural backgrounds into account during admissions. 

Some Jericho students believe that affirmative action being struck down won’t affect their admissions process at all. Senior Samantha D. says, “I’m Latina, but I think it could give me more of a chance so they can look past my ethnicity and more so on my academics, my extracurriculars and just more of me as a person, just not that I’m Hispanic.” 

“I think you have more of a chance to be admitted or just to be looked at a holistic level, rather than just where you come from, or your ethnicity or gender,” she says. 

Senior Brandon K., who is not a member of a racial minority group, thinks that this court decision could help his chances of acceptance. He says, “I would say I have a strong application. I think I’ve done really well with school and I’ve done stuff to make sure I’ve done activities to make a difference in this community.”

At the time of this article’s publication, senior Ajani S. decided to commit to Florida A&M because he wants to attend a college where he would not be a minority. He says, “I have always been around people who don’t look like me and don’t relate in the same ways, so I wanted to go to a school where I didn’t feel like an outlier.” 

Senior Jay P. was accepted early decision to Yale University. He is a bit nervous that he will remain a minority in his Yale classes. However, he says, “My family members have been assuring me that colleges are larger, so even if the percentage of Black people attending is low, there’s enough people quantity-wise that I will be able to find my own groups in a way I couldn’t have in high school.”

An 11th grader at Jericho High School in Jericho, NY, Lefkowicz hopes to be a cosmetic dentist to the stars. 

An 11th-grader at Jericho High School, Park aspires to be a dermatologist.

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A FAFSA Fiasco Has Students Still Asking: Which College Can They Afford?

The new application for federal tuition aid was meant to be simpler. High school seniors say it has been anything but, and some are still unsure of their plans after graduation.

By Colbi Edmonds and Bernard Mokam

Colbi Edmonds and Bernard Mokam interviewed dozens of students, counselors and experts for this article.

By this time of year, college-bound high school seniors are usually celebrating their choices, researching dorms and even thinking of their majors. This year, that’s not necessarily the case.

Because of a disastrous rollout of the new application for federal tuition aid, many still don’t know how much tuition they would be paying and so have not decided where they can afford to go.

The Education Department’s redesigned form for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, was supposed to make applying for tuition aid easier and more accessible. But faced with a bureaucratic mess caused by technical meltdowns and severe delays in processing information and receiving aid packages, students say the new system has been anything but clear or streamlined.

The first signs of trouble began in December with the form’s release and have cascaded since, creating uncertainties for students — with graduation right around the corner.

“It’s been a nightmare from point A to point B,” said Reyna Atkinson, a 17-year-old from Michigan, who ultimately committed to Michigan State University after months of waiting.

FAFSA is a free, standardized application for federal aid for college tuition that millions rely on. Students fill out one form, with details on their background and household income, to request tuition information for the schools they list.

Before the overhaul, applicants typically received their financial aid packages within 72 hours of submission. But this year, the Education Department has to reprocess more than half a million applications , and students have been waiting for two, three months — and counting.

Students typically must commit to a college by May 1. Some colleges have extended their decision days until May 15 or early June because of the FAFSA problems.

Even so, several students interviewed by The New York Times said they were making decisions without getting a full picture of tuition costs, a move financial aid experts discourage. Others said they couldn’t commit without knowing how much their chosen college would cost.

Kenneth Seinshin, a 17-year-old from New York City who hopes to be the first in his family to go to college, started filling out his application the first week it came out. But it took months to troubleshoot the glitches he encountered; he finally submitted in March.

So far, he has received only one aid package, for Union College in New York, and he has yet to make a decision. “The whole process just really stressed me out,” Kenneth said.

Clover Schwalm, an 18-year-old from Michigan, was in a similar situation. As a disabled and transgender student, she wanted a school with an accessible and inclusive environment. She still hasn’t received all of her packages, including from schools of higher priority like Savannah College of Art and Design, but committed to Arizona State.

She said she has “reservations” about moving to Arizona, but was comforted by the fact that it doesn’t have a ban on transgender care for adults. “It’s not the best, but I also recognize that there are states that could be less safe,” she said.

Simply completing the application has been a frustrating task for many. Some have not been able to save their changes or make corrections, while others could not submit their form at all.

So far this year, there has been a noticeable dip in the number of students who have completed the form, compared with last year. Among high schoolers graduating this year, 35.6 percent had completed financial aid applications through April 26, compared with 48.2 percent in the same period for the previous class, data analysis by the National College Attainment Network shows.

“The data on FAFSA completion takes a bad story and makes it even worse,” said Bill DeBaun, a senior director at NCAN, which tracks FAFSA applications.

Reyna, the Michigan student, submitted her FAFSA form in January, but it wasn’t processed until late March. She was accepted to several schools, but the FAFSA system wouldn’t let her add them to her application, so she gave up on trying to get financial aid from them.

Ava James, 17, from California, faced different, but still frustrating, hurdles. When she tried to add her mother’s first name, Janice Cheryl, the system could not process the double name. She eventually figured it out, but then the system prematurely submitted the form without her signature. It took her six weeks to fix it.

Another wrinkle has been the form’s convoluted language.

Vanessa Farris, a counselor for the Ayers Foundation Trust in McMinnville, Tenn., said several of her students tripped over one particular question:

“Are the student’s parents unwilling to provide their information, but the student doesn’t have an unusual circumstance, such as those listed in question 7, that prevents them from contacting the parents or obtaining their information?”

“Such a little thing, but it has a cost,” Ms. Farris said. Several students provided wrong answers, and they were not able to amend their mistake for months.

The debacle affects some more than others. Agnes Cesare, a college counselor at U.C.L.A. Community School, said she was worried about its effects on students from low-income families or racial minority groups — the ones the new form was meant to help.

Ms. Cesare said that because of the arduous process, some students at her school had decided to pursue an associate degree and save up for a bachelor’s later. But she worries that once they are out of high school, they may not get the help they need to transfer to a four-year school.

“It feels like the roadblocks are insurmountable” for those students, Ms. Cesare said.

The process has been especially difficult for students with undocumented parents. The new system asks parents for their Social Security numbers, which undocumented people don’t have.

That was the case for Elizabeth Templos-Galindo, a 17-year-old in Tennessee, and her parents. They called the Education Department for assistance but were put on hold for five hours before learning of other forms of identification her parents could submit.

Education Department officials have acknowledged the glitches, and on a recent call with reporters, the deputy secretary of education, Cindy Marten, said they had been “working tirelessly to resolve those issues.” Officials added that students were now able to make corrections to their forms and that updated financial records were being sent to schools. Last month, the department announced that the leader of the Federal Student Aid office, Richard Cordray, would step down.

While FAFSA is used by every school in the country, a small group of institutions — a lot of them private and elite schools with a larger endowment and more students from wealthier backgrounds — also uses the College Scholarship Service Profile, a financial aid application administered by the College Board.

The CSS profile costs $25 per application, and schools that use it provide aid estimates using a different formula. Because that form didn’t have a bevy of glitches, students received estimates more quickly from CSS-affiliated schools than ones that use FAFSA.

Owen Keller, 18, from Maine, can speak to that. He filled out both FAFSA and CSS forms in December, and received tuition details from CSS-affiliated schools like Bowdoin College well before his first FAFSA package arrived in late April. Owen decided on Bowdoin even before receiving all of his packages.

The FAFSA blunder has made some reconsider their plans.

Yajaira Vargas, 18, from Reno, Nev., wants to study political science and become an immigration lawyer. She got into her top choice, the University of Nevada, Reno, but wasn’t able to apply for aid until May.

Now, she is considering not going to college immediately and taking a gap year. “But I don’t want to do that,” she said.

Universities are also feeling the stress of the FAFSA disaster, said Christopher Murr, assistant vice president for financial aid and scholarships at Texas State University.

“I know the U.S. Department of Education is doing their best at this point,” Dr. Murr said, “but it seems every couple of days there’s a new wrinkle, a new challenge that we have to adapt to.”

Experts are worried things may get worse this summer, when this debacle could collide with the “summer melt”: a period when students who took all the necessary steps to go to college, including putting down a deposit, decide not to enroll by fall semester.

Because of that, Mr. DeBaun said June 30 was seen as a crucial milestone, when the school year ends and high school students will no longer get access to counseling.

“Will we be able to connect students with the assistance they need to finish the process out?” he asked.

Alan Blinder contributed reporting.

Colbi Edmonds writes about the environment, education and infrastructure. More about Colbi Edmonds

College decision day passes many students by as financial aid delays linger

May 1 is usually when high school seniors start flaunting T-shirts and hats from the colleges they’ll be attending in the fall.

But decision day is looking more muted this year, the result of a scrambled financial aid application process that has pushed some enrollment deadlines well past Memorial Day.

Christy Loop Dervishi, a teacher in Washington, D.C., said she filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly known as FAFSA, for her son in January. But the error-ridden overhaul of this year’s application has gummed things up for millions of students, including her son, Rias. Dervishi said she was recently told his form had been flagged for corrections and would need reprocessing.

Rias, 18, applied to five schools, got into three, and narrowed his choices to two: James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and the University of South Carolina, Columbia.

He hasn’t been offered any merit-based awards at James Madison but is still awaiting potential need-based aid, Dervishi said. So far, he has received two merit scholarships from USC Columbia and expects a roughly $2,000 federal Pell Grant, but he has yet to hear a final figure.

“Without knowing, he doesn’t know which school is more affordable,” Dervishi said via email. Fortunately, both schools have given Rias more time to make a final decision.

“There are others in much worse situations than my son,” she added. “It’s heartbreaking for some children.”

While higher-education officials across the country have been trying to accommodate applicants affected by the delays, many households are already making tough choices , NBC News has reported. Some have ditched dream schools for cheaper ones or rearranged their finances to afford pricey institutions whose total costs were up in the air much longer than expected.

Because FAFSA information is a prerequisite for many other forms of aid, the series of glitches and errors that plagued the system since its December rollout into this spring has held up many campus officials’ efforts to assemble their own financial packages for admitted students.

And that’s for those who’ve managed to submit their FAFSAs to begin with. Form completions were down by almost 30% year-over-year through April 19, according to the National College Attainment Network.

But decision day isn’t a bust for everyone, and the FAFSA situation is improving. Some families who had faced uncertainty are now getting the funding information they need to make decisions.

Kerri Harrelson, a single mother and infant/toddler developmental specialist in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, said her daughter has finally started receiving financial aid offers. Bricelyn, 18, wasted no time in committing to her top choice, Iowa State University, after it recently offered her a full package that included need-based aid.

“She is excited about her future!” Harrelson said, sounding relieved after speaking with NBC News a month ago . At the time, Bricelyn had just finished blasting out a second batch of applications to cheaper state schools, fearing she might not be able to afford those she’d initially applied to with much of her aid information still unknown.

The Education Department has nearly finished working through its backlog, and “students who complete a FAFSA today can expect their records to be sent to colleges within one to three days,” Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal told reporters Tuesday.

Officials have received over 8.4 million FAFSA submissions and processed more than 8.3 million, he said. They have also processed almost 1 million corrections for issues like missing signatures or IRS tax data authorizations.

Reprocessing forms affected by two previously announced system issues “should enable all institutions to package aid offers,” agency officials said Monday . And a glitch that had prevented some applicants without Social Security numbers from completing FAFSAs is also being resolved, Kvaal said.

Any schools that had opted to wait for all accurate information before sending financial aid packages to prospective students can now do so, the department said Monday.

Federal authorities are reaching out to 700 high school superintendents nationwide to encourage families to finish incomplete FAFSA applications. “If you have been waiting for the dust to settle, now is the time to come in and complete your FAFSA,” a senior department official said on Tuesday’s press call.

The efforts come as the department faces growing pressure on Capitol Hill. Senators rebuked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona during an appropriations subcommittee hearing Tuesday. “What happened with the FAFSA system is simply inexcusable and inexplicable,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said.

Cardona acknowledged the problems. “Our kids deserve better, and we are working around the clock to make sure it improves,” he said.

Last week the head of the Federal Student Aid office that administers FAFSA announced he would step down at the end of June.

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, a network that has sharply criticized the Department of Education over this year’s FAFSA process, applauded its momentum in clearing up roadblocks.

“We are pleased to see the Department make forward progress on its timeline to provide accurate student FAFSA information to colleges and universities, so they can complete the work of packaging and delivering financial aid offers to students,” the association’s president and CEO, Justin Draeger, said in a statement Tuesday.

Haley Messenger is a producer at NBC News covering business and the economy.

How FAFSA 'fixes' have turned College Decision Day into chaos

The effects of recent delays in college financial aid could be felt by a vast array of students for years. we spoke with students across the country about their experiences. here are their stories..

Instead of attending college this fall, a Massachusetts teen plans to join the Marines. 

A first-generation student from Illinois hopes her restaurant job will cover college costs.

A Floridian in her 30s says she might go back to exotic dancing to afford tuition. 

May 1 has long been the deadline for many students to decide where to attend college. But for applicants across the country, 2024 has been the year the systems in place for decades fell apart. While picking a college is anxiety-inducing in a normal year, the government's botched handling of financial aid upended that decision-making process, disrupting the lives of a broad swath of American students.

The stress stems from a form called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which opens the door to government help with tuition and, many say, to a better quality of life. This year, glitches and holdups with the form kept many vulnerable people from getting across the finish line. 

Historically, the application required students and their families to answer dozens of complicated questions using decades-old technology. Facing a mandate from Congress, Biden administration officials set out to fix it. But the new FAFSA was beset with issues and corrupted data, delaying aid offers for months and jeopardizing the prospects for some of the students the updates were supposed to help. 

Even employees in the Education Department’s Federal Student Aid office, which was charged with streamlining the form, expressed frustration with their bosses’ handling of the rollout, two agency officials not authorized to speak publicly told USA TODAY . Then, last week, seemingly capping off the fiasco, the top Biden administration official overseeing the revised process resigned from his post.

“FAFSA is the stepping stone to everything,” said Galawe Alcenet, a senior in Minnesota who lost her chance at getting several private scholarships because of the processing delays. “The biggest challenge has been the waiting.”

Applicants’ experiences were also complicated by colleges’ evolving stances on standardized entrance exams, last year's Supreme Court decision banning affirmative action, feelings about the Israel-Hamas conflict and the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which threw their middle and high school years into disarray. 

More: How did the FAFSA rollout go so wrong? A look at the key events

The FAFSA fiasco hit low-income students the hardest. The vast majority of America’s college students – 85% as of the 2019-20 school year – rely on aid . But by late March, 40% fewer high schoolers had completed their FAFSA compared with the same period last year, according to federal data. 

“We were out of runway,” said Alyssa Dobson, the financial aid director at Slippery Rock University, a public school in western Pennsylvania. By the time the Education Department announced in late March that it had flubbed key details on the already-tardy FAFSA information, Dobson said she had no more time to waste. 

“The entire operation is a house of cards,” said Melissa, a student in Florida who kept getting error messages when she tried to submit her application – and still hasn’t gotten a clear answer on how much aid she’ll get. “I feel like if I make one wrong move it’s just going to collapse on itself.” 

Melissa is among several students who asked USA TODAY to withhold her last name to protect her prospects. She is in her early 30s and pursuing college for the second time after earning her associate’s degree in her 20s. She had worked as an exotic dancer to cover her bills and said she will probably return to that gig given her precarious financial aid circumstances. 

“The whole ‘we’re making FAFSA easier’ thing? Not true,” she said.

"It is an overhaul – it’s not just a new website," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said at a Senate hearing Tuesday on his department's budget. But, he said, “there’s no excuse. Our students deserve better.”

More than 8 million students have submitted their FAFSA forms to date, said James Kvaal, the undersecretary of education, in a statement to USA TODAY. The applications are now being processed in one to three days, he said, as many schools make financial aid offers. Kvaal encouraged anyone applying to college who hasn't done so to submit the form as soon as possible.

In interviews over the past month, students, parents and financial aid professionals told USA TODAY many of them have struggled to cope with the bungled process. 

Military or college? FAFSA changed his mind

Growing up, Sam envisioned he’d be on the front lines after high school, protecting his community as a police officer or in the military. He brushed aside the idea of college. It wasn’t for him, he decided. He wanted to avoid student loans at all costs. He had been raised by a single mom in Milford, Massachusetts, and there was no way he could afford tuition.

Things changed his junior year when he learned of a national program at his school called OneGoal that works to transform postsecondary advising. The teacher who led the OneGoal class didn’t dismiss Sam’s blue-collar dreams but encouraged him to at least consider college. 

That teacher made Sam realize getting generous financial aid for college was possible for a student like him who didn’t get perfect grades. Then he visited a campus, and the dream seemed within reach. Sam had pictured college as “a bunch of people just running around and partying, like in the movies,” he said. “I just can’t justify that money – that’s just stupid. I can party for free otherwise.” During the visit, Sam realized “people were actually taking this seriously.”

He applied to some nearby state schools – and was accepted. Then came the financial aid part. 

“Man, the FAFSA killed me,” he said. 

The form kept telling him there was an error with his mother’s information. None of his attempts at troubleshooting resolved it – not filling the form out backward, not using all caps or no caps. Like many students who spoke with USA TODAY, he tried to access a helpline. “It was rough. I was getting so mad.”

Sam never managed to submit his form. He has given up on going to college this fall. The endless dead ends were so frustrating he took them as a sign: He should just enlist in the Marines. The FAFSA frustrations, he said, were “what really, really made me not want to go to school and just go straight to the military.”

Students in mixed-status families waiting on answers

In mid-April, Janet Leon, 18, still hadn’t sent in her FAFSA. Like so many others, it wasn’t for lack of trying. 

By the time Cardona, the education secretary, designated a “FAFSA Action Week” urging seniors to submit the form as quickly as possible, the senior had tried just about everything. But the FAFSA continued to boot out her parents, who are Mexican immigrants, every time they checked the box saying they didn’t have Social Security numbers. 

Her father is a chef at a senior home, and her mother spends most of her time running around after her younger siblings. Getting the pair of them to sit down simultaneously and work through the form with her was a challenge. She’s busy, too: She has worked a restaurant job all through high school, pays her phone bill and is trying to piece together a college fund. 

“It’s just so hard to get everyone in one place,” said Leon, who hopes to attend Iowa State University, several hours from her home in the Chicago suburbs. She would be the first person in her family to go to college – if word comes through that she can afford it.

Challenges have been widespread for students from mixed-status families, which is often when at least one parent is a non-U.S. citizen who doesn't have a Social Security number. Reports suggest many applicants, like Leon, continued to run into trouble long after the Education Department announced it would fix the problem in February. 

It took until Tuesday, April 30 – one day before the traditional college decision deadline – for the agency to allow people without Social Security numbers to submit the form. The department called it a temporary fix and said students who didn't have one would have to verify their statuses with schools before they receive federal aid.  

The news came too late for people like Angel Ulloa, a student in New Jersey who is still awaiting crucial financial aid information. When the 18-year-old was rejected from Princeton after being waitlisted, he felt disappointed on multiple fronts. Princeton covers tuition for families like his that fall under a certain income threshold. But that was no longer an option.

Ulloa faced FAFSA problems from the get-go: He couldn’t discern which information needed to go where or why error messages kept popping up. His mother was anxious about being on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars and tried calling customer service dozens of times. She made four calls every morning and often several more at night over a month. 

“No matter how many times we got through, I just never felt like any of our voices were being heard,” Ulloa said. “I just wanted to bang my head on the computer.” 

Eventually, Ulloa printed the form, filled out the information on paper and mailed it in. In late February, he got an update that his FAFSA had finally gone through. But after two months – and weeks later than students who graduated last year – he was still waiting to hear how much aid schools would offer him.

Some transfer students remain in limbo

Ximena Penuelas Quinonez wasn’t always an expert on how people pay for college. 

After graduating from a public high school in Phoenix a few years ago, she didn’t apply to too many places. Like lots of students from low-income backgrounds, she didn’t want to give her parents something else to worry about. “I can’t afford college on my own,” she used to tell herself. “And I can’t ask my parents, because they’re already struggling as it is.”

So she applied to community college and continued living at home to save money and spend time with her siblings. She got a job in the financial aid office at Phoenix College, where she witnessed this year’s FAFSA disaster close up. 

She’s on track to finish her associate’s degree and is heading to Arizona State University in the fall. ASU, like many four-year schools, funnels nearby community college grads onto campus as transfers, hoping they’ll turn their associate’s into bachelor’s degrees. 

Penuelas Quinonez was admitted to ASU in March. By mid-April, she had determined which classes she’d be taking there. What she didn’t know was how much she’d be paying. 

She struggled through the spring to submit her FAFSA, tripped up because her parents don’t have Social Security numbers. Without an idea of next year’s sticker price, she worried she’d have to keep living at home, even though the ASU campus is a longer drive.

She finally got her aid offer in late April, though it still didn't show how much tuition she’ll have to pay. She’s now looking for an on-campus job and planning to take out loans so she can get an apartment and avoid commuting about two hours, there and back, every day.

A tale of two FAFSAs: Corrections create a waiting game

Ashly and Derick Callejas are twins, two of four children raised by working-class immigrants in Plainfield, New Jersey. The teens’ financial information is identical. Yet when it came to filling out the FAFSA this year, they had very different experiences. Ashly submitted her form with very few hitches. Derick, meanwhile, encountered problems at almost every step. 

In their case, it appeared successfully submitting the FAFSA came down to luck.

Perhaps because he pressed a button too many times or triggered some other glitch, Derick was informed he needed to correct his form once it was processed and couldn’t see his estimated aid until he fixed the problems. Making the necessary corrections promptly would be impossible. He’d have to wait weeks. He learned this not from the Education Department but from TikTok videos of students who had experienced similar problems. 

The administration indicated the revised forms would accept corrections in March. Then officials extended the timeline, anticipating corrections could be submitted in mid-April. Most of these changes were simple (like adding a missing signature) and would take only a few minutes, Education Department officials and observers said.

Derick recently learned, again through TikTok, that he could finally correct his form. But after he submitted the revision, he realized he needed to make another correction. The processing delays prevented him from knowing how much aid he’ll get for the University of Pennsylvania, where he was accepted earlier this year. 

Penn is one of several hundred institutions that uses the CSS profile, an online application that lets students apply for nonfederal financial aid. Derick is optimistic he’ll get most of his tuition covered, but he has refrained from committing to Penn until he knows more. Neither he nor Ashly wants to leave their parents with bills they can’t afford – sending one kid to college is expensive enough. And because of other changes to this year’s FAFSA, parents no longer get the same automatic discount for having two kids in college at once. 

A smooth FAFSA experience and an alternative: success stories

Henry Wolfe will probably remember April’s total solar eclipse for the rest of his life – but not because of the rare astrological event. 

Between his weekend track meets, he and his mother squeezed in a visit to Wake Forest University. While everyone else was busy staring at the sky outside, they were more concerned with the stuff on the ground: The band playing on the quad, the school’s mascot (the Demon Deacon), and the Department of Health and Exercise Science, where Wolfe hopes to study. 

On the car ride back home to Columbia, Missouri, Wolfe seemed to make up his mind. “This visit moved the needle,” his mom said from behind the wheel. 

While Wake Forest apparently still hadn’t received Wolfe’s FAFSA weeks later, the private North Carolina college uses the CSS Profile and estimated his aid that way. Wolfe got an offer in March that shaved tens of thousands of dollars off tuition, making it more affordable than the University of Pittsburgh, which he then eliminated from his shortlist. “Demon Deacons it is!” his mom wrote in a text to USA TODAY. 

On the other side of the country in Stockton, California, 18-year-old Diorue Hodges has decided she’s attending North Carolina A&T, a top HBCU known for educating the most Black engineers in the country. The aspiring mechanical engineer said her relatively painless FAFSA experience allowed her to focus on other matters this semester – studying for finals, connecting with fellow students at her future school and spending quality time with her California classmates. 

Hodges didn’t even know what the FAFSA was until her junior year. But her school hosted a week dedicated to teaching students and their families about the ins and outs of the process. Counselors also consistently reassured Hodges and her peers when there were delays and changes from the Education Department. “The form was just really easy,” she said. There weren’t any in-depth, confusing queries. “A lot of it was just, like, ‘Click this if it applies to you.’” 

Even for the luckiest students this year, some questions remain. Because of processing delays, Hodges is still awaiting a finalized aid package. 

Eroded trust: Colleges may struggle to solve enrollment problems

For years, the government wanted to put more money in the hands of more low-income college students. And over time, that will surely happen. The new FAFSA allows hundreds of thousands more students to qualify annually for federal aid. 

Yet the success stories have been subsumed by an overwhelming frustration over how officials in Washington went about trying to make things better. The resentment that built up devolved into a broader erosion of public trust in the federal financial aid system. 

Paul Dieken, financial aid director at Pomona College in California, said the Education Department hasn’t done a good job of rebuilding that trust. When the agency suggested that colleges could use corrupted data to get aid offers out the door as quickly as possible, Dieken was flabbergasted. 

The government has a lot of work to do to regain credibility, experts told Congress a few weeks ago. In the meantime, all the students caught up in this year’s mess will have to live with choices they were forced to make more quickly than many felt was reasonable. 

As of mid-April, the FAFSA completion rate at public high schools with the most minority students was down by more than a third .  

Dieken worries about the long-term repercussions of the messiness that has defined this admissions cycle. If the number of students of color at Pomona were to decline, it would be all but impossible for the college to figure out why it had happened. 

“We don't know if that's because of the FAFSA problem or the Supreme Court decision problem or even the campus protest issue,” he said. “It's really going to be hard for us to figure out what's causing changes in our class. ... If we don't know what the problem is, how do we course-correct?"

Alia Wong covers inequities in education for USA TODAY. You can reach her at (202) 507-2256 or [email protected]. Follow her on X at @aliaemily.

Zachary Schermele covers education and breaking news for   USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele .