Queen's: PSE activities list
Approx. 30 words / 200 characters with spaces per field
List your top activities and jobs (paid or unpaid), including the positions held, in short capped fields.
Queen's wants a quick, honest inventory of what you have actually done: arts, athletics, faith-based roles, hobbies, volunteering, part-time work, and household or family responsibilities. Each entry gets its own tiny field with the position you held.
This list anchors the rest of your statement. It shows the kind of person you are through how you spend your time, and it gives your readers the raw material they connect to the reflection you write next. Queen's treats every activity as equally valuable, so this is not a contest of titles.
Choose activities you can later reflect on with a real story, not just the ones that look impressive on paper.
Write the role or contribution you held, not just the organization, so a reader immediately sees what you did.
Include real responsibilities like a job, caring for siblings, or a long-running hobby. Queen's values these equally.
“Member of various clubs and volunteer organizations throughout high school.”
“Lead barista and closing-shift trainer, Hillside Cafe (12 hrs/week, two years).”
- 1Each entry leads with the activity, then role. The PSE activities list caps every field at roughly 30 words / 200 characters, so the move is density: no full sentences, just role plus the one number that proves scale or commitment.
- 2Naming a specific seat (stroke) and the leadership role (captain) signals depth, not just participation. Queen's rewards specific experience over a padded resume, so concrete positions matter more than vague membership.
- 3A result (provincial silver) plus a detail that shows persistence (5:30am) do the persuading. In a capped field you cannot reflect, so you pick the one fact that implies the attribute.
- 4Switching to an unpaid service role broadens the picture: leadership plus contribution. Variety across entries reads as a real person, not a single-note applicant.
- 5Duration (18 mo) and a concrete addition (exam-prep sessions) show initiative beyond the assigned task, which is the adaptability Queen's looks for.
- 6Closing with a paid job signals work ethic and time management. Listing hours per week quietly proves the commitment was real and sustained alongside school.
- Which five experiences could I actually tell a short, specific story about?
- For each one, what did I personally do that someone else would not have?
- Which of these reveal initiative, care, or persistence rather than just a title?
- Every field names my actual role or contribution, not just the group.
- I included at least one ordinary or family responsibility, not only prestige items.
- Each entry is under the character limit and reads clearly on its own.
Drafted it? Get an honest, admissions-style read, free.
Score my essay