Rising Seniors: The Common App
August 1 - a significant date in college admissions. It's essentially the "kick off" date for the college application process - the day the Common App goes live. Common App you say? What’s that? Let’s review some frequently asked questions:
1.
What is the
Common App
?
To
put it simply – it's a college application form used by nearly 900 colleges in
the US and around the world. You can
fill out just one "Common Application" and submit that same
application form to all (or many) of the schools on your list.
2.
Are there any schools that do not use the Common
App?
Yes
– some common examples include colleges in the University of California System
(UC Berkeley, UCLA, etc. use the UC Application
), along
with many public universities in Texas (UT Austin, Texas A&M, etc. use the Apply
Texas
application). A wide variety of
colleges and schools accept other application forms like the Coalition Application
, or only
accept their own application form just for their college. It’s best to check on the college website or
in GuidedPath to find out what application form is required for each college on
your list.
3.
What about the application essay?
One
of the benefits to using the Common App is the opportunity to write just one
college essay. The Common App provides seven
essay prompts
– you choose just one and write a single college essay that you will
send to all the schools that accept the Common App. However, some colleges do require an
“Application Supplement” specific to their college. Some of these application supplements require
an additional essay. So again – check on
the college website, the Common App, or GuidedPath to verify application essay
requirements.
4.
How do I
get started?
As
of August 1, you can log on to the Common App and create an account
if you don’t already have one. From here
you can begin to fill out your student profile – essentially this is the
application. You’ll record everything a
college will need to know about you – demographic, academic, and co-curricular
information. In addition, you can start
adding colleges to your Common App list – this will become the list of schools
that you apply to using the Common Application.
And finally, check out those essay prompts. It’s never too early to start (or finish)
your Common App essay. That will be one
more thing checked off your list before senior year begins.
This year Common App has a new look and feel, and a more mobile friendly application so hopefully applying to colleges will be even easier. If you created a Common App account in the past, you should still be able to log in to the new site but you’ll likely notice that the application looks different than it did before.
