Examples in here were helpful to us.

https://www.accesscollegeamerica.org/post/tips-for-creating-a-common-application-activity-list
"the ACTIVITIES LIST is one of the most defining pieces of the application."
"The activities list is a place on the college application reserved for all non-academic pursuits. These things will not be found on a transcript and aren’t reflective of GPA or class rank. "
Example:
"Application Nation’s Sara Harberson suggests that students “give them something different for the position line and the description line. Focus on something that no one else will write in the position line. The more clever you can be, the more you can stand out.”"

"Her examples is a student who starts playing a sport and never makes it to varsity.
They describe themselves as a “JV Player, Suburban High School Girls’ Basketball.” This is accurate, but kind of boring.
Better might be:
“Beginner to Starter in a Flash, JV Basketball”.
Best might be describing it in more “real” terms. “I never thought I would call myself an athlete, but here I am 4 years later starting as the point guard at 5’1! It may only be JV, but it’s my team.”"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Combine them all unless you have something unique to say about intramural and interscholastic. There are only 10 spots in the section, save it for more important activities. Same goes for music, counts one item.

What are the important activities? My kid is going into high school and all he does in band and sports.

Kids pick up more things throughout high school. Clubs, do some kind of service. Summer jobs. My kids listed short pre-college programs in their intended major.

And, to the "doodling" comment, my daughter did list her art hobby because she spends an hour+ on it every day and it was part of her main essay, despite being a STEM major.

Our guideline was something your spend significant time on, or shorter, more impactful things if they helped tell the story of your interest in the major and/or something else about the college.

So he could for example:
JV/Varsity
Track
Captain (12); Member (9-11)
Mentored and motivated team of 50 athletes, led them to States. Coach's award, VA State All Star Award

Other Activity
Volunteer
Coordinated and led a group of high school students who tutor English Language learners in an immigrant shelter.

Etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid attends a private school that requires kids to play a sport every season. There are intramural, interscholastic, JV and Varsity choices, and he's done a mix of them. He will probably finish high school with 5 varsity letters in 2 sports, 2 seasons of JV, and 5 seasons of intramural/interscholastic.

Since they're required for school, does he still put them on his activity list? All of them, or just the JV/varsity? If so, can he combine them and just do 1 activity that's either all the JV/Varsity sports, or all the sports?

Also, he's been in school choir, both the regular choir, and an auditioned choir that meets before school and carries 1/2 a credit for the whole year. Since that's on his transcript should I assume it doesn't count?

Combine.
No more than 2 sports entries total.

The general rule is if it’s part of transcript don’t include. If you do combine into some thing else related to the EC done on your own (independent choir/singing).

I don't actually know whether the sports appear on the transcript. If you're at a school where sports are either mandatory or optional but count as your PE requirement, does something like varsity basketball appear on the transcript?