How to write Common App activities in 150 characters

RReaders in Stanford's admissions office skim most activity descriptions in a fraction of a second, because almost every applicant fills the box with duties. Attended weekly meetings, organized events, helped with fundraising: the box on the Common App holds about a line and a half of text, and words like those could describe almost anyone.

That is a wasted line for every activity, and across a full page it adds up to a file that tells a skeptical reader what the student did but nothing about how the student thinks. A description that teaches the reader something gets read twice. There are four ways to write one, and each fits in a single sentence.