What order should Common App activities be in?

RReaders in Stanford's admissions office read the activities page looking for evidence of a student's stated plans, and the order of the entries shapes what they find first. The standard advice is to list from most impressive to least, and it is generally right. Most students should follow it.

There is one important exception, and it applies to exactly the students who have done the work of building an academic strength. Those students tend to order the page by hours or by title, which feels safe, and a reader moving at speed can finish it without seeing what the student does best. The correction is small, and it takes about five minutes.