Most scholarships will ask you to enter specific information on an electronic template regarding your honors, awards and extracurricular activities when you start your application online. However, you should try to maintain an updated list in your personal files so that you keep an accurate record of your college activities for future use and for easy retrieval and transfer.

The purpose of such a list is to give the scholarship committee a greater sense of your achievements, experiences, and personal interests.

Typically, your List of Honors is meant to showcase your research accomplishments and publications as well as your community service and leadership experiences.

Write your list according to the particular attributes of the scholarship for which you are applying. Specific guidelines will be provided to you when you start your online application, so make sure you follow them. If a scholarship (such as the Truman) is looking for leadership potential, be sure your list highlights your leadership experience and community service accurately. For example, the Rhodes seeks candidates that are academically exceptional, but also well rounded in other ways, such as extra curricular activities. Therefore, it is appropriate, in that case, to include athletic and extracurricular activities in addition to your academic honors and awards.

As you create your list, don’t assume that your readers know anything about the particular organizations or types of honors you are listing. Identify each item as succinctly as possible, including the nature of the organization and what you have specifically accomplished, as well as any recognition you may have received. Avoid acronyms unless they refer to commonly known and easily recognized organizations.

Think carefully about the relevance and importance of the honors, awards and activities you include in your list. Try not to populate it with items whose relevance may seem dubious or whose importance may appear questionable. Make sure the links to articles you published (or contributed to) in electronic journals, organizations whose membership you claim, websites you created or maintain, portfolios of your creative/professional work, etc., are active and correct. The last thing you want is someone clicking on a web address you included in your list and be shown an error message or not find any mention of you or your work in the website. That will create doubts regarding your honesty or diligence, and may impact your chances to advance in the competition or affect the outcome of a personal interview.

Most scholarships will ask you to enter specific information on an electronic template, but for those that don’t (such as the Rhodes), lists that are well organized and carefully constructed will make a more favorable impression on the scholarship committee that evaluates your application. Categorize your List of Honors by headings like “Academics,” “Community Service,” and so forth, in a clear and coherent manner. Aim for conciseness and clarity when creating your list. Don’t clutter it with items of little importance or indirect relevance to the mission, goals and objectives of the scholarship or to your proposed program of study.