Find Common Application 2022 – 2023 updates on my College Prep Mom blog.
Congratulations to those of you with teens who have already sent in their early decision and early action college applications! I would have loved to be in your number but my senior doesn’t have any strong college preferences yet. For the rest of us parents, I’ll be sharing application information tips and advice this month. Today, I’m sharing about the Common Application 2021-22.
The Common Application for college is an undergraduate college admission application that students use to apply to multiple member colleges and universities.
I have read various articles and watched multiple presentations about the Common App for college along with my son Michael. A lot of the information has been pretty generic but a few presentations stood out.
I’m going to share notes from my favorite presentation on the topic – the University of San Francisco’s “THE COMMON APP” virtual event. (You can watch the entire video recording for yourself. I just don’t know how long it will be available.)
In the presentation, Kaleena Chiddick, Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of San Francisco, shares tips, advice and information about the Common App in order to make the application process easier. It is important to note that the shared information is for students completing the first-year version of the Common App. It is not for transfer students.
What Is the Common App?
The Common App allows students to apply to multiple schools through one application. It is an overall application and is not specific to a particular college.
It was designed to help streamline the application process so that students don’t need to keep filling out the same information on multiple applications. Rather, they put the general information in once and it goes to all of the schools that they are applying to through the Common App.
All schools don’t accept the Common Application 2021-22 but there are 900+ colleges on the Common App. It’s the student’s general information that is shared across the network of schools. Each college on the app has its own questions (and sometimes additional essays) so applicants must make sure that they know the requirements of the colleges that they are interested in.
As such, make sure that your seniors give themselves enough time to thoroughly complete each section of the app.
Creating a Common Application 2021-22 Account
If the applicant is in high school and hasn’t graduated yet, create a“first-year student” account. Even if the student has taken some college courses during the senior year of high school, choose this option.
Since the app information is the main way that colleges get in touch with applicants, be certain that your teen includes the correct information. Make sure that they use the email that they actually use on a regular basis and choose a password that they will remember. In addition, have them check to see if they have entered their name, address, date of birth, etc. accurately.
Common App Sections
When students create their accounts and log in, there are various sections including profile, family (history), education, testing, activities, writing and courses & grades.
Background Information
In the profile section, applicants will include some personal information. This includes citizenship information and social security number requests. This year, a new change is that students can indicate if they are DACA or undocumented students.
This is also where students can apply for a Common Application 2021-22 fee waiver if they qualify. While the Common App platform is free to use, many colleges charge an additional application fee that students will have to pay when submitting their applications. You can see if your family qualifies for a fee waiver by visiting the Common App’s fee waiver information page.
In the education section, be sure to list all high schools that the students have attended. If they have any college credits, be sure to include the college information also. The students should also list all of the classes that they are currently taking as seniors so that the colleges can see their academic progression.
Activities
The activities section gives the college insight into what students are doing outside of the classroom. There is a maximum of 10 activities that can be included. Thoughts for students to consider include the following: “What are you most proud of? What has been impactful? Which did you spend the most time involved in?”
This section is basically about how students spend their time outside of classes. Activities don’t all need to be school-related either. Clubs, community engagement, church activities, the arts, hobbies, sports, work, volunteering and extra family responsibilities are just some examples that fall in this category.
Students are asked how many hours per week and weeks per year that they are involved in the various activities. If students are unsure, encourage them to track their activities for 1 to 2 weeks in order to get a good estimate.
Writing Section
This section has several parts to it. The Common Application Essay will go to all of the colleges that students are applying to so don’t make the essay university-specific.
There are 7 first-year essay prompts that students can choose from for the 2021-2022 year. The common app prompts can be found on the Common App’s essay prompts page. (The Common App essay word limit is 650 words.)
There are two additional boxes that will pop up in this section. The first is the optional additional information section. It’s where students can let the colleges know any additional context that was missing in their application or if they would like to clarify anything.
The other box is the optional COVID-19 section. This is where students can share how COVID personally impacted them, their families and their learning environments.
I will be doing a post later this month on college essays that goes more in-depth on this particular topic.
Adding Colleges to the Common App
Adding colleges to the My College section is how students will submit applications to their preferred colleges. There, they can search for colleges to add to their profile. Students can add up to 20 colleges to their Common App profile.
Each school that is included on the app has its own profile that includes helpful information like deadlines, fees, testing policy, and various materials that they require.
Students can add and delete schools up until the various school application deadlines. Also, it’s good to note that the colleges can’t see any of the other schools where students are applying to attend on the College App.
FERPA and Adding Recommenders
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) release gives students the choice of whether or not to waive their rights to review their recommendations and supporting documents. Colleges like for rights to be waived so that they will receive more candid, truthful responses but it’s up to the student to make that choice.
Some colleges and universities require recommenders. That is why there is space on the app for students to add various recommenders (counselors, teachers, advisors and other recommenders).
The recommender can then submit their recommendations through the Common App or directly to the colleges and universities (electronically or by mail).
Final Tips
- Be aware of deadlines and don’t wait until the last minute to complete and submit the application.
- Once the application is already submitted, student can’t make changes through the Common App. They will have to contact colleges directly.
- If your family needs more help, visit the Common App’s help or contact pages.
Lastly, you might also find this Common App informational video valuable:
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(You can find more college planning information in the College Prep section of this site.)