Gil over at aletheology has a post about college applications. He makes a really good point about keeping track of all your extra-curriculars, honors and awards. I’d tell anyone in high school who plans on going to college to start a resume listing any and all activities that are application-worthy. My resume got me through all of my college applications, plus scholarship stuff. It also gave me something to hand my teachers when I asked them for letters of recommendation to tell them even more about myself. Like Gil says, make sure you have the dates (years should work for most activities), and any offices you held or special recognitions you received.
I’d suggest starting on this now, rather than later, because it can be hard to think back and remember everything you’ve done, and you might forget something.
As an example, even though I didn’t mention this in my post, I forgot to include working for my school newspaper for two years on three of the applications. Two years! And I do not have that on three applications.
Having gone through college already, you’ll have ample time to add things to your resume and future applications along the way.
Letters of recommendation are excellent, and don’t forget to continue to gather letters from college professors. More than likely this will be professors you establish relationships with in your junior and senior years. Letters from professors in your field of study are great for advancement to graduate school, transfer to other schools, and even jobs once you leave college.
If you take a record of your accomplishments to college and add all the ones you get through college, you’ll have one fantastic resume to leave college with!