Should You Put High School on Your Resume? (+ Examples)

Whether you were a top jock, a budding dancer, or just about scraped through high school, having some sort of qualifications on your resume is a must. This is especially true if you’re fresh out of high school and on the hunt for your first job. You might have been a big fish in a small pond at high school, but competition is much tougher out in the real world and you need to do the best you can to shine and get noticed above everyone else.

Do you have to put education on a resume?

Education is still seen as one of the standard sections of a resume. That is because it’s vital to show the level of education you have achieved, whatever type of role you are going after. But it doesn’t mean you have to throw everything on there. The education section can still be an opportunity where you can optimize your resume. A tailored resume is more likely to pass an ATS scan and impress a hiring manager or employer, so it is worth considering what to include at each stage of your career.

When you should put high school on your resume

Before delving into this idea, we need to explore your requirements a bit more and figure out where you’re currently at, career-wise. 

1. Is education your strongest selling point?

If you’re straight out of high school or college, then it’s likely that your qualifications from there will be a focal point to your resume. Recruiters tend to lean towards focusing on professional work experience – but for an entry-level position, the education section of school leavers and graduates is key.

2. Is the education section a requirement?

As mentioned, the education part of a resume is essential. It might not have been asked for, but it’s expected to appear on your resume. It doesn’t take up much space, as you’ll see from the examples later in this article.

3. How long is your resume?

Generally speaking, resumes should either be one or two pages long. Any shorter, and whoever’s reading your resume won’t get a proper overview of your skills and achievements. If you’re a recent high school student, chances are your resume will be one page in length, as you don’t yet have any or much work experience. This length can still be impactful, as long as you fill it with relevant and customized detail.

How to list high school on your resume

Under the section heading of education, list the name of your high school, the city and the state, as well as the years you attended in brackets. If you’re still at high school, you can put “ongoing” in brackets instead of the years. If any courses you took relate to the job in hand, add those in as well.

Examples of how to add high school on a resume

1. This language student is highlighting her linguistic skills gained during high school:

• Billy Ryan High School, Austin, TX (2019 – 2023)

• Spent a semester abroad studying French at Lycee Paris (May / June 2022)

• Speaks French to an advanced level

2. Here, the student has kept it simple, adding in the graduation year to make it clear what stage he is at:

• Chess Dale High School, Harrisburg, PN (graduated 2024)

3. This budding athletics student is proud to demonstrate her accolades and achievements during her high school years within the education section:

• Cary Grant High School, Salt Lake City, UT (ongoing)

• Won Athlete of the Year (2022)

• Achieved Personal Bests in 100 meters x 4

4. This student never graduated from high school, and didn’t receive a diploma. This is made clear by the use of shortening the years attended. There is no point in lying on your resume. For one, it’s so wrong, and for another, you are bound to be found out once background checks have been carried out, so don’t do it!

• Graceful High School, Phoenix, AZ (attended 2018 – 2020)

Should you put a GPA score on your resume?

It’s worth considering adding in your GPA, but only if you secured a high score of over 3.5. Otherwise, leave it off. See the example below.

• Gladys High School, Denver, CO (2018 – 2023)

• GPA: 3.7

• Head of the student board

If you don’t feel you have enough in your education section, with just high school information, you can supplement it by adding relevant training or certifications. 

When should you remove high school from your resume?

There comes a time in your work life when keeping your high school qualifications on your resume is redundant and completely pointless.

Picture the scene--you’re a qualified Accountant with a degree, accountancy exams, and three years of work experience under your belt. Should you put high school on your resume in this instance?

Certainly not.

Once you have further qualifications, whether that’s through university, professional courses, or professional development, it’s time to trim your education section down, and let recruiters see your most recent achievements in this sphere. Having your high school grades on there will look so out of place, and might date you as well, showing you up as someone who isn’t tailoring their resume as they should. 

Should I put college on my resume if I dropped out?

This can be a tricky one, as it really depends on your situation. If you dropped out for reasons that are justified--such as health concerns, looking after a family member, or financial worries--then it’s probably worth adding this in to show that you got to that level of education. You can offer up more of an explanation as to why you didn’t finish the course in a cover letter.

However, if your reason for dropping out was something along the lines of you flunked the course, you were kicked out, or you just couldn’t be bothered – well, it’s a bit of a no-brainer. Don’t include this sort of information on your resume as it will only show you up in a bad way. When writing your resume, focus instead on your strong attributes and achievements since college days.

The takeaway

Your resume is likely to be the first impression that a hiring manager has of you, so make it impressive! You want your resume’s education section to be highly relevant to the job you’re applying for. Remember that while your resume can be strategic, your job application needs to be honest.

When debating whether you should put high school on your resume or not, keep in mind:

• To include high school qualifications and detail if it is the highest level of education that you have achieved.

• Also include high school on your resume if you are currently still there, and maybe looking for a summer job, an internship, or an entry level role.

• Make sure to incorporate your GPA if you achieved a score of 3.5 or higher, otherwise leave it off.

Now that you’re well versed on should you put high school on your resume or not, have a go at crafting the whole document, and see how you get on.

Best of luck!

If you’re finding that it’s still a struggle when pondering the question, “Should you put high school on your resume?”, give ZipJob’s free resume review tool a go. This will analyze your current resume, giving you hints and tips on how to improve it, so you can make the best of your abilities, and land an interview soon!

Recommended reading:

• Deciding How Far Back Your Resume Should Go

• Incorporating Hobbies and Interests in Your Resume

• How to Demonstrate Time Management Skills on Your Resume