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Now that the Common Application is live, students all over the world are beginning to gather the paperwork necessary to apply to college. Whether your dream school is a top 20 or your local state school, chances are you’ll be filling out an “Activities” section in your application. So, what should you put here?

Some extracurricular activities are easy to pinpoint. After-school clubs, volunteer work, and your summer gig at Starbucks should all be included. But sometimes, students hesitate to include commitments that are less straightforward because they aren’t sure that they “count.”

College admissions officers want to know how you spend your time. Any “thing” you do regularly that takes up a good chunk of your time should be included on your application. You can think of them less as structured “activities” and more as things, events, or people you have committed your time to.

Here are some commitments you may have that should be included in your “Activities” section:

Taking care of family members

Whether you’re watching your baby brother after school, getting your little cousin off the bus, or making sure grandma takes her medicine each morning, caretaking is a legitimate extracurricular activity. This is especially true if caretaking responsibilities take priority over other, more organized activities, such as sports. For example, if you weren’t able to sign up for Varsity Soccer because you need to care for your siblings after school before your parents get home from work, that is important information to note in your application.

Taking care of animals

Do you live on a farm or homestead? Do you keep horses, goats, sheep, or llamas? Maybe you are responsible for the family dogs. Caretaking in any form is a valid extracurricular activity, and the more time-intensive it is (we’re looking at you, stable-muckers and coop-cleaners!), the more this activity tells a story of how you spent your last four years.

Hobbies (to an extent)

Have you taught yourself to play guitar? Do you have a plot in your community garden, or in your own back yard? Hobbies such as these show independence, drive, and that you are excited to pursue your passions. Include them!

However, you must be judicious. Playing video games for hours each day is not a good hobby to include. Moderating a discord group dedicated to a certain game, on the other hand, is. To discern which activities you should include, think about what qualities you must embody while doing them. Responsibility? Creativity? A willingness to learn? This is a good litmus test to figure out what should be included.

Arts

Do you write fan-fiction, draw, or paint in your spare time? Do you create illustrations and share them on Tumblr or DeviantArt? Or maybe you just keep your creations in a private notebook at home. All of it counts. While you can take your talent to the next level by creating an Etsy shop or volunteering your skills to help with creating the set for the school play, even if you don’t, it is worth including in your application. Becoming skilled at an art takes time, and it requires you to be a student – whether that’s of another creator you admire, or through books and classes on your own time.

Crafts

High school is a time when many teens discover their own personal “style.” At times, this comes with learning different skills such as sewing, knitting, crocheting, or other hand-crafts. Some students learn wood-working skills from their parents, or pottery…the list goes on. If you are a maker, demonstrate this in your application. Even if you’ve only learned how to do simple repairs to your clothes, making things last is an important part of sustainability efforts. As long as you are telling a story and can find the “why”, it will make a good entry.

The possibilities for the “activities” section are endless. The most important thing to consider is how you spent your time outside of school hours. What are you responsible for? What are you passionate about? How have you explored those passions or taken up the mantle of responsibility? Be as detailed as you can within the word count.