A college student's resume must emphasize skill set, extracurricular activities, and event participation.
Let’s start with proven examples created by our team of certified experts.
College Resume Examples
We have added the most popular resume examples for grad school, college application, scholarship, internship, undergraduate, recent college graduate, and more. You can use them as inspiration and guide when writing your resume, or you can use our resume builder and create a standout and effective resume in 10 minutes.
Grad School Resume
This resume is for students or professionals applying to graduate school programs in various fields. It showcases academic achievements, research experience, and extracurricular involvement.
Job Description
The role involves demonstrating academic preparedness, conducting advanced research, collaborating on scholarly projects, and contributing to the intellectual community of the graduate program.
Key Notes
There is an emphasis on analytical skills, research methodologies, and a commitment to academic excellence.
Additional Tips
- Customize for Programs: Tailor your resume to highlight experiences and skills relevant to the specific graduate program.
- Academic Focus: Emphasize research, academic achievements, and publications.
- Professional Formatting: Use a clean layout that prioritizes readability.
Resume for College Application
This resume is intended for high school students applying to undergraduate college programs. It showcases academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and leadership roles.
Job Description
The role involves showcasing academic readiness, leadership in extracurricular activities, and community engagement.
Key Notes
Emphasis on a well-rounded profile that reflects intellectual curiosity, teamwork, and a strong commitment to personal and academic growth.
Additional Tips
- Show Balance: Highlight academics, extracurriculars, and community involvement equally.
- Tailor for Schools: Adjust your focus based on the college's values and programs.
- Keep it Concise: One page is ideal for high school resumes.
Research Assistant Resume
This resume is intended for undergraduate or graduate students applying for research assistant positions in academic or professional settings.
Job Description
The role involves assisting in academic or professional research by conducting experiments, analyzing data, and contributing to scholarly publications or presentations.
Key Notes
There is an emphasis on technical skills, attention to detail, and effective communication of findings.
Additional Tips
- Detail Achievements: Include publications, presentations, or conference participation.
- Highlight Skills: Focus on techniques and software relevant to the research area.
- Professionalism: Use formal formatting and avoid personal anecdotes.
Sorority Resume
This resume is intended for college students applying to sororities. It emphasizes academic achievements, leadership roles, and community involvement.
Job Description
The role involves aligning with the sorority’s values through leadership, community service, and academic achievements.
Key Notes
There is an emphasis on building meaningful relationships, promoting philanthropic goals, and contributing to the organization’s mission.
Additional Advice for Sorority Resumes
- Focus on Values: Highlight activities that align with the sorority’s mission.
- Emphasize Leadership: Include examples of leading teams or projects.
- Keep it Personal: Use a tone that reflects your personality and enthusiasm.
Scholarship Resume
This resume is intended for high school or college students applying for scholarships. It showcases academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and financial needs (if applicable).
Job Description
The role presents qualifications that meet scholarship criteria, including academic excellence, leadership, and community involvement.
Key Notes
There is an emphasis on showcasing achievements and demonstrating a clear need or alignment with the scholarship’s objectives.
Additional Tips
- Tailor for Each Scholarship: Highlight specific qualifications relevant to the award.
- Quantify Achievements: Use measurable outcomes to demonstrate impact.
- Demonstrate Need: If financial need is a factor, address it concisely.
College Freshman Resume
This resume is intended for students who have recently graduated from high school and are beginning their first year of college and are applying for part-time jobs, internships, or campus leadership opportunities.
Job Description
The role highlights high school achievements, demonstrates readiness for new challenges, and develops skills through part-time jobs or campus leadership opportunities.
Key Notes
There is an emphasis on adaptability, collaboration, and a commitment to continuous learning.
Additional Tips
- Highlight Transferable Skills: Emphasize soft skills like teamwork and organization.
- Leverage High School Achievements: Use relevant roles to showcase experience.
- Include New College Activities: Add recent involvement on campus.
Recent College Graduate Resume
This resume is intended for newly graduated students entering the job market or applying for entry-level professional roles.
Job Description
The role involves transitioning academic knowledge and internship experiences into entry-level professional positions.
Key Notes
There is an emphasis on contributing to organizational goals through fresh perspectives, relevant skills, and a proactive attitude.
Additional Tips
- Showcase Internships: Highlight practical experience gained during college.
- Emphasize Skills: Focus on skills relevant to the job you’re applying for.
- Customize: Tailor your resume for each application to match job descriptions.
Student Athlete Resume
This resume is intended for high school or college student-athletes seeking athletic scholarships, team positions, or professional opportunities in sports.
Job Description
The role involves excelling in sports while maintaining strong academic performance and contributing to team success.
Key Notes
There is an emphasis on discipline, teamwork, leadership, and the ability to effectively balance athletic and academic commitments.
Additional Tips
- Include Stats: Provide measurable performance metrics where applicable.
- Highlight Leadership: Emphasize team captain roles or leadership positions.
- Show Balance: Mention academic achievements alongside athletic accomplishments.
Undergraduate Resume
This resume is intended for college students pursuing undergraduate degrees and seeking part-time jobs, internships, or leadership roles on campus.
Job Description
The role involves demonstrating academic progress, building professional skills, and actively participating in extracurricular activities.
Key Notes
It emphasizes leadership, critical thinking, and hands-on experience in relevant fields.
Additional Tips
- Show Growth: Include recent accomplishments and evolving responsibilities.
- Balance Academics and Activities: Demonstrate both academic focus and extracurricular engagement.
- Keep Updating: Regularly revise to reflect new roles and skills.
College Student Resume for Internship
This resume is intended for current college students applying for internships in their field.
Job Description
The role involves applying academic knowledge to gain practical experience in a professional setting through internships.
Key Notes
There is an emphasis on developing technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and contributing to organizational projects.
Additional Tips
- Tailor Each Resume: Align skills and experience with the specific internship description.
- Highlight Projects: Showcase academic or personal projects relevant to the internship.
- Emphasize Growth Potential: Present yourself as eager to learn and contribute.
How to write a college resume
With so many possibilities for a decent career, entering the professional world as a college student or recent graduate might seem challenging and overwhelming. But there is no need to fret.
Let's understand how to make a distinctive college resume, select the ideal structure for a college student's resume, and optimize each part of your resume.
A college student will most likely have very little or no professional experience. Despite that, you can still make your resume strong and captivating.
A college student's resume should typically be organized to contain the components below:
- Header
- Summary or objective statement
- Education section
- Employment history or professional experience section
- Skills section
Apart from the common sections of your college resume, you can also add sections like
- Awards & Certification
- Personal Projects
- Languages
- Interests & Hobbies
Even with less work experience, you can still make your resume enjoyable by following these tips:
Key Points for Writing a College Resume
- Focus on Your Academic Achievements - Start with your education section, highlighting your degree, major, minor, and expected graduation date. Include academic honors, scholarships, GPA (if it's strong), and relevant coursework that aligns with your career goals.
- Craft a Strong Resume Objective - Write a concise statement that reflects your career ambitions and highlights your most relevant skills.
- Use a Functional or Skill-based Resume Format. These formats enable hiring managers to identify their strengths right away.
- Highlight Research Projects and Classwork - List any significant academic projects, case studies, or research where you gained practical experience.
- Include Internship and Part-Time Experience - If unrelated to your target field, focus on transferable skills like teamwork, time management, or communication.
- Showcase Campus Involvement and Leadership - Mention involvement in student organizations, clubs, or sports teams.
- Detail Volunteer Work and Community Service - Volunteering shows initiative and dedication. List your roles, organizations, and the skills you developed, such as teamwork, organization, or event planning.
- Highlight Technical and Digital Skills - Include proficiency in software programs, coding languages, design tools, or data analysis software.
- Include Relevant Personal Projects - List personal initiatives like blogs, social media management, coding projects, or creative portfolios that showcase your skills.
- Add an ‘Awards and Accomplishments’ Section - Include academic honors, competitions won, scholarships, or any public recognition you've received.
- Include Soft Skills with Context - Instead of listing generic soft skills, provide examples (e.g., “Collaborated with a team of five to present a marketing project, developing strong communication and organizational skills”).
- Optimize for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) - Use keywords from the internship or job description to ensure your resume passes through ATS filters. Focus on action verbs and concise, impactful bullet points.
- Proofread and Get Feedback - Check for spelling, grammar, and formatting errors thoroughly. Ask a career advisor, professor, or peer to review it for feedback on structure and clarity.
Let’s now visit all the important sections of a college resume to get an idea of what should be included in each section.
Header
The header of your college resume should be clean, straightforward, and professional. It should include essential contact information and a short, engaging resume summary.
What to Include in a College Resume Header
- Full Name – Use a bold, larger font for your name.
- Phone Number – Include an active, professional number.
- Professional Email – Use a professional email address (e.g., firstname.lastname@email.com).
- LinkedIn Profile – If you have one, include it (ensure it's updated).
- Portfolio/Website – Optional but useful for creative fields or projects.
- Location (City, State) – Optional if applying locally or remotely.
Header example
Emma Thompson
(123) 456-7890
emma.thompson@email.com
linkedin.com/in/emmathompson
College Student Resume Objective or Summary
Given the intense competition, your college resume should persuade the recruiting manager from the start. Resume Summary is the first thing they will notice in your college resume.
To do this, you have two options - the resume objective or the resume summary.
The difference between them is that a summary is a 2-4 phrase description of your achievements and professional experiences, whereas a resume objective is a 2-4 phrase summary of your career goals.
Hence, when you have some work experience, you must use a resume summary. Otherwise, go with a resume objective.
Resume objective or Resume Summary must appear below the contact information on your resume. They provide a synopsis of your whole resume.
College resume summary examples
College resume objective examples
Education?
Your education section is vital whether you're a college sophomore or junior. The hiring manager will ignore you if you submit a college resume with a poorly worded education section.
It's essential to mention your education accurately. Nothing too complicated, though.
Submit your in-progress degree information in the following format:
- Degree Type & Major
- University Name
- Expected Graduation or year of graduation
- GPA, Honours, Courses, and anything else you might want to add
Example
Bachelor of Arts in English
Loyola University, Chicago
Expected Graduation - May 2021
Relevant Courses:
Literary Analysis, Critical Thinking, and Written & Oral Communication Skills
Don’t forget to include your high school credentials if you haven’t completed your college degree.
You must also list the languages that you know, awards, publications, honors, and extracurricular activities.
Work Experience
College students and freshers often struggle to get a job as they lack work experience. Because of this, if you have relevant experience, such as an internship, compose a work history section that will set you apart from the competition.
Recruiters value candidates who can perform the job. The simplest way of putting your employment history on a resume is
- Designation
- Company Name
- Dates
- Responsibilities & Achievements
Example
Part-Time Editorial Intern
Miles & Miller, Stanford
June 2016 - March 2017
Job Responsibilities:
- Helped manage a pool of independent contractors, including development editors, copy editors, proofreaders, indexers, recipe testers, and technical editors, both on-site and remote.
- Assisted with the creation, layout, and assembly of sales materials.
- Handled outbound mail as well as distributed and collected receiving mail.
- Supported the staff in a general and editing capacity when needed.
What if you don’t have experience?
Not every applicant will have had a position comparable to this before. Just use transferable abilities from any prior position.
For instance, if you previously worked in customer service at a nearby pizza business, you can discuss any transferable abilities and experiences. You could demonstrate that you employed excellent communication and sales abilities, much like a sales associate.
If you have absolutely no experience, skip the work experience section and showcase your skills and qualifications to the best of your ability.
Skills for College Resume
Hiring managers are searching for a blend of soft and hard skills. Include your greatest skills and abilities to convince them you are the best applicant.
But which abilities are ideal for a college resume?
List a diverse mix of hard and soft skills you acquired during academics.
Most Common Skills for College Student Resumes
- Technical Skills
- Verbal & Nonverbal Communication Skills
- Leadership Skills
- Decision-Making Abilities
- Computer Skills like Microsoft Office
- Programming Skills or Coding
- Project Management Abilities
- Active Listening Skills
- Skills to work with a team
- Problem-Solving Skills
- Time Management Skills
- Logical & Analytical Skills
- Critical Thinking Skills
Hard Skills
- Marketing Skills - SEO/SEM, CRO and A/B testing, Email marketing and automation, Funnel management, UX Design, Data visualization, Google Analytics and Google Search Console, AdWords, Facebook Paid Ads
- Computer Skills - MS Office, Google Drive, Spreadsheets, Email, Presentations/Slideshows, Database Management, Quickbooks, Social media, Web
- Presentation Skills - Visual communication, Slideshows, Research, Data analysis, Reporting
- Management Skills - Budgeting, Project management, Hiring, Finance Office management skills, Logistics, New business development
- Technical Skills - CAD, Lean manufacturing, Multivariate analysis. Linear regression, Prototyping, Workflow development, STEM skills, Web: HTML, CSS, Javascript.
- Design Skills - Photoshop, Illustrator, UX/UI design, UX research, Data visualization, Color theory, Corel Draw, Sketching, Print design
Soft Skills
- Time Management - Stress management, Organization, Prioritizing, Planning, and Goal setting.
- Communication - Verbal communication, Written communication, Presentation, Constructive feedback
- Adaptability - Self-management, Optimism, Calmness, Analysis, Self-motivation
- Teamwork - Conflict management and resolution, Collaboration, Coordination, Idea exchange
- Attention to Detail - Scheduling, Introspection, Questioning, Critical observation
Additional Sections For College Resume
We've almost covered all the major sections of a college resume. Here are a few additional sections that can strengthen your resume.
Certificates:
Many companies value certifications more than degrees, particularly in specialized sectors. If it is a course you have completed or certified for anything, be sure to include that.
Languages:
A college student's resume will stick out like a light if fluent in another language.
List the languages by proficiency:
- Native
- Fluent
- Proficient
- Intermediate
- Basic
Volunteering:
Voluntary work is usually a plus on a resume, particularly if you lack any professional experience. Include volunteer work that is relevant to the job position.
Hobbies & Interests
As a fresher, your interest and hobbies section can help you showcase your soft skills like leadership and cooperation. Extracurricular activities you participated in during your studies also play an essential role in showing the hiring managers that you possess the skills required for the job.
Projects:
Your resume is strengthened by including projects as subheadings or a distinct section under your job experience. Hiring managers prefer those candidates who have prior similar experience
Cover Letter
No application is complete without a strong cover letter. A customized cover letter demonstrates your interest in working for this organization.
That is essential while making a job application. You can persuade the hiring manager to read your resume by doing this.
Sample Cover Letter
Jason Lee
547 Kings Cross Road
London. UK
Dear Ronald O’Conner,
I'm applying for the summer internship in scientific research that was advertised by London University's Career Services Office. I believe my background in research and conservational skills makes me a strong candidate.
Adept in environmental field research and have served as a conservation assistant at National Trust City Park during the previous summer where I examined soil samples and data provided by several research initiatives.
I feel I'll be beneficial to your project. I will have the perfect opportunity to benefit your company and broaden my knowledge thanks to the internship.
If you think my qualifications are a match for your post, I hope for an interview at a mutually convenient time. I am eager to speak with you.
Sincerely,
Jason Lee
