College Resume Examples & Writing Tips

College resume template (text format)

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College resume examples for different situations

Our team of career experts has put together these college student resume samples to use as references when writing your own:

College student resume for an internship

This college student resume sample is specifically designed to target internship opportunities. By highlighting relevant extracurricular activity experience and relevant coursework, the writer demonstrates essential skills and academic accomplishments that qualify them for the internship they want:

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Example highlights

• Eye-catching design: This resume’s unique layout, accent font, and pops of color ensure that hiring managers will notice key elements like their relevant marketing skills.
• Hard numbers: The candidate quantifies achievements on their resume where possible, providing verifiable evidence of their marketing skills and accomplishments – like increasing engagement rates and website traffic.

University student resume

Highlighting your academic achievements, relevant projects, and real-world skills can make your resume stand out. For example:

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Example highlights

• Strong objective: This student wrote a concise, yet effective resume objective that highlights their key skills, immediate goals, and sincere interest in the internship opportunity. Enthusiasm and eagerness to learn are highly valued by employers, especially for internships and entry-level roles where candidates don’t yet have real-world experience.
• Thorough projects section: The student includes details about several projects on their resume where they learned skills that are transferable to entry-level engineering jobs.

Current college student resume

Our current college student resume example shows the essential elements to include to land that first post-college job.

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Example highlights

• Prominent education section: For recent or soon-to-be graduates with limited work experience, the education section is often the part of their resume that makes the best case for them to get hired. Placing this section at the top draws immediate attention to the candidate’s academic achievements, honors, and relevant coursework.
• Includes volunteer work: The candidate includes volunteer work on their resume, which shows dedication and willingness to go the extra mile.

First-year college student resume

Seeking internship opportunities, part-time employment, or guidance for future career endeavors? This example can serve as a guide to help you demonstrate your potential to employers despite your limited work history:

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Example highlights

• Includes projects: This student details a project from a class and one independent project. These two examples show employers that the candidate has experience applying technical skills to work, and also demonstrate their dedication to learning outside the classroom.
• Concise and well-organized: Despite being a first-year student with limited experience, the resume is well-structured, easy to read, and effectively conveys the relevant information an employer or internship coordinator would seek.

Sorority resume

Use our sorority resume example as a guide to maximize your chances of receiving a bid from your top choice.

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Example highlights

• Polished headshot: The headshot shows a bit of personality and allows potential sororities to put a face to the name.
• Includes community service: The candidate includes volunteer work that underscores her community engagement.

College freshman resume

Take a look at our college freshman resume example to help increase your chances of landing a summer job or internship.

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Example highlights

• Includes relevant coursework: Listing relevant coursework showcases the student’s academic background in their major.
• Lists academic honors: Mentioning National Honors Society membership shows the candidate’s academic achievement.

Resume for a college application

Use our college application resume example to guide you when writing your own resume.

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Example highlights

• Excellent academic record: The student features their high SAT score and GPA prominently, demonstrating strong academic performance and readiness to attend an elite university.
• Well-rounded activities: Extracurricular activities show the applicant is dynamic and engaged both in and out of the classroom.

Recent college graduate resume

Use our recent college graduate resume example as a reference to help you land that all-important first job after graduation.

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Example highlights

• Wide-ranging skill set: The candidate’s diverse skill set suggests that they are well-rounded and adaptable.
• Research experience: The senior seminar project shows the candidate’s ability to carry out research, analyze results, and present their findings, all of which are important skills for a political research assistant position.

Grad school resume

An effective grad school resume improves your chances of getting accepted into your dream master’s program. For example:

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Example highlights

• Relevant volunteer work: Campaigning, get-out-the-vote initiatives, and collaborating with the university’s Political Science department show the candidate’s strong interest in the field outside the classroom.
• Featured education section: The education section showcases the candidate’s Bachelor’s degree, with an expected graduation date that aligns with standard grad school application timelines.

Scholarship resume

Check out our scholarship resume example to help you create a resume that’s sure to impress any scholarship panel.

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Example highlights

• Highlights academic experience: The list of relevant coursework demonstrates the candidate’s dedication to their area of interest.
• Relevant skills: All of the skills listed are valuable for a music student to have.

Undergraduate resume

This undergraduate resume example shows how to effectively highlight your unique skills, achievements, and potential as a dedicated and capable employee.

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Example highlights

• Describes projects: The candidate elaborates on relevant coursework projects, showing their practical experience and academic accomplishments.
• Unique achievements: The resume includes unique accomplishments like starting an Instagram page and recruiting new hires, demonstrating initiative and leadership abilities.

4 tips on how to write a college student resume

Whether you’re entering the workforce or preparing a grad school resume to continue your academic career, this guide will show you how to write an offer-worthy resume.

1. Emphasize your education

Getting a degree is a full-time job. Employers understand this, but it’s up to you to explain how your education makes you qualified for the position you want.

You should include the following details in your education section:

• University name
• Major and level of degree (i.e., Bachelor’s or Master’s)
• School location (city and state)
• Anticipated graduation date (month and year)
• Your GPA (if it’s a 3.5 or above)
• Awards or honors
• Dean’s list (if received twice or more)

For example:

Additionally, include relevant coursework you completed for your degree to show employers you have the background knowledge and qualifications required for the job or internship you’re applying for.

Here’s an example:

2. Write a compelling resume objective

Your college resume should begin with a resume objective that showcases your key skills and ends with a statement of your career goals. As a college student, your resume objective is a key part of your resume to differentiate yourself from other students or even people with work experience vying for the same position as you, so it’s important to get it right.

Here are some examples:

3. Swap out “Work History” for “Relevant Experience”

While you may not have years of work experience, that doesn’t mean you don’t have relevant experience that employers will find valuable.

To clarify to the hiring manager that you’re not listing professional work experience, change the title of your work experience section from “Professional Experience” to “Relevant Experience.” This change helps you emphasize your qualifications and provide a more accurate summary of your achievements and skills.

Choose experiences you can use to demonstrate job-specific skills, like:

• Volunteer work
• Internship experience
• Extracurricular activities
• Relevant coursework or projects
• Study abroad programs
• Hobbies and interests

For example:

Where possible, back up your experience with hard numbers. Adding verifiable data helps highlight your accomplishments by showing exactly how you contributed to a team or project through percentages, statistics, or monetary values.

Here’s an example:

Including hard numbers in your work experience is a great way to show hiring managers what you’re capable of. Plus, they’ll be impressed that an undergraduate student can quantify their achievements.

4. Include a diverse mix of skills

Finally, write a strong skills section that includes job-relevant hard skills.

The specific skills you’ll list will depend on the industry you’re trying to break into, but skills tied to digital literacy are always in demand. Hiring managers will appreciate seeing any of the following skills on your resume:

Here’s an example of a skills section for a graphic design student:

You can also list any online certifications you’ve completed through independent study, like this:

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