The answer is: you may put high school experiences on your resume, however admissions encourages more recent and relevant business school experiences.

Before adding a high school experience to your resume, please consider the following questions:

• Is this experience unique?
• Does it make me stand out?
• Is it typical of an involved high school student?

When asking yourself if the experience is unique or makes you stand out, consider the other students here at UW-Madison.  We strongly advise students against using multiple high school examples and especially advise them against using examples that many other applicants may also have.  Examples may include but are not limited to: Athletic captains, student council, local high school clubs, etc.

If you still answer yes to the first two questions, please do include that high school experience on your resume!

As quoted in the ‘common practices’ from the admissions application page, “DO consider post-secondary experiences as stronger and carrying more weight than experience(s) gained while in high school.  DO focus on results and highlight successes/impact points.”

While it is allowed to include high school experiences on your resume, don’t make the mistake of letting your resume be dominated by high school experiences.  Any college experience, whether from UW-Madison or from a previous college, is a more recent and relevant experience to your business school application. 

Have you missed our last BBA Admissions Application tips on myBiz?  Just in case you have, here they are:

Ask Bucky About BBA Admissions

Ask Bucky About BBA Admissions – Resume Resources

Top Ten BBA Admissions Resume Tips – Let us help you!

Also feel free to utilize Undergraduate Academic Services, the BBA Admissions Resume Workshops, and Admissions 101 to learn more about the admissions process and about your admissions resume!