When you apply to college, your GPA and test scores only tell part of your story. Admissions officers want to know who you are outside the classroom—and that is exactly where a brag sheet for college comes in.
The problem? Most high school students wait until senior year to track their achievements, leading to forgotten awards and overlooked details in their college applications.
Whether you need a high school brag sheet template to hand to a teacher next week, or you want to start tracking your activities early, we’ve got you covered. Below, you can grab our free downloadable template and learn exactly how to showcase your wins so your teacher recommendation letters stand out from the crowd.
A Letter of Recommendation Guide: Share your brag sheet with your public high school teachers, coaches, or any other adults with whom you are asking for letters of recommendation. Though a teacher may have you in class, they may only know some of the clubs and activities you participate in, both in and outside your school district.
Easily Reference Accomplishments: The brag sheet will help them quick-reference your activities, and skills should they need help. Remember, many of these adults have hundreds of students to track, so it’s difficult to reference each student’s accomplishments without help. Making it easier, will help them write a letter of recommendation effortlessly, which in-turn certainly works in your favor!
A College Application Supplement: Including your brag sheet with your college applications can also give college admissions officers more insight into who you are outside your student role.
While having an excellent GPA and high test scores is terrific, colleges also want to see students who give back to the community and are active beyond traditional academics. You may also want to keep your brag sheet handy when, or if you decide to complete the Common Application.
A Tool to Help with Scholarship Applications: Use your brag sheet to help you reference the activities and projects you have been involved in. This will also serve as a writing prompt for any scholarship applications that require an essay. Be sure to update your brag sheet each semester.
What would you consider your most outstanding academic and personal accomplishment thus far?
Talk about an event or happening in your life that significantly impacted you. How did it affect your life, both personally and academically?
Describe yourself using only five positive adjectives.
What do you consider your three greatest academic strengths and weaknesses? Please briefly explain your answers.
What do you consider your three greatest personal strengths and weaknesses? Please briefly explain your answers.
Are there any factors or circumstances in your life related to your grades or admission test scores that you would like colleges to be aware of?
Are you excited to explore a particular academic area in college? If yes, which area of study and why?
Are you interested in a particular profession? Why?
Briefly introduce yourself to your future college roommate.
Volunteer and community service work
Leadership positions you’ve held
Non-academic extracurricular activities such as your involvement in music, arts, or athletics
Academic clubs or academically focused extracurricular activities you are (or have been) involved in
Honors and awards you’ve received (in school, community, or otherwise)
Employment, part-time or otherwise
When listing items like jobs, volunteer work and community service, include your supervisor’s name and number with the description. This way, colleges can verify your experiences. Listing all you’ve accomplished can seem uncomfortable, but they are your WINS! Remember, this is called a brag sheet for a reason. While you should be honest (some schools do verify these), you should not be overly humble – it’s time to highlight your triumphs!
What is a brag sheet? Think of it as a student resume designed specifically to help your teachers and counselors write powerful, personalized letters of recommendation.
What’s a Brag Sheet?
A brag sheet is similar to a student resume – it highlights your accomplishments, key experiences, leadership skills and employment throughout your secondary education. Essentially, it’s a quick reference guide with all the details and achievements for someone trying to get to know you better.How to Use a Brag Sheet
Your brag sheet can be used for many purposes.How to Create Your Brag Sheet
As with college essays, keep your brag sheet as clear and concise as possible. Anyone who reads your brag sheet will read many student documents. For enhanced readability, use bullet points instead of long paragraphs, and keep your brag sheet to one page.What to Include on Your Brag Sheet
A brag sheet doesn't need to look like a typical resume. It should include your grade point average (GPA) and any test scores (such as the PSAT, SAT, and ACT). But remember, the main highlight of your brag sheet is to showcase your high school career and personal accomplishments. Starting from the ninth grade, include all your experiences. Ideally, you would have been keeping track of all your time in extracurricular activities, sports, clubs, travel, or volunteer service, as well as any awards, leadership positions, etc. If you have not been keeping track, you should start building your brag sheet (you’ll be grateful you had come your senior spring semester). At the top of your brag sheet, include your name, address, and contact information. Some brag sheets include a question-and-answer format, which is your option. Some students answer questions but include them only when giving their brag sheets to individuals writing letters of recommendation, not to potential colleges. You'll have to figure out the best option for you.Sample Brag Sheet Questions
High School Experiences and Activities that Colleges Like to See
When listing items like jobs, volunteer work and community service, include your supervisor’s name and number with the description. This way, colleges can verify your experiences. Listing all you’ve accomplished can seem uncomfortable, but they are your WINS! Remember, this is called a brag sheet for a reason. While you should be honest (some schools do verify these), you should not be overly humble – it’s time to highlight your triumphs!
Free Student Resume Template
We've created a brag sheet template you can use to keep track of all your student activities. Consider converting this into an electronic file for safekeeping. This will also allow you to add and edit it quickly!Free Brag Sheet Template
Mobile Tip: Turn This Template into a Living Google Sheet Want to track this on your phone throughout high school?- Tap the "Copy" button on the box below.
- Open your ChatGPT or Claude app.
- Paste the prompt, drop your info in, and let AI format it into a perfect grid you can paste right into Google Sheets!ct as a spreadsheet expert. Convert my text-based high school brag sheet into a clean Markdown table optimized to copy/paste into Google Sheets.
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Shawna Newman
Managing Editor, Contributing Writer
Shawna Newman covers various topics related to post-secondary education, including trade schools, the military, and college. She details strategies for paying for school, such as scholarships, financial ai...
