WHAT IS THE COMMON APPLICATION?
The Common Application (https://www.commonapp.org) is a not-for-profit organization that serves students and member institutions by providing an admission application – online and in print – that students may submit to any of our 488 members.
WHY USE IT?
Once completed online or in print, copies of the Application for Undergraduate Admission can be sent to any number of participating colleges. The same is true of the School Report, Midyear Report, Final Report and Teacher Evaluation forms. This allows you to spend less time on the busywork of applying for admission, and more time on what’s really important: college research, visits, essay writing, and senior year coursework.
There have been some new items added to the application itself but the essay questions remain the same.
Instructions: The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don’t feel obligated to do so. (The application won’t accept a response shorter than 250 words.)
Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
• Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?
• Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
• Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?
• Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.
Here are several websites with excellent suggestions for writing a strong personal statement:
Oberlin: http://blogs.oberlin.edu/applying/applying/my_advice_on_th.shtml
Purdue: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/642/01/
Carleton: http://apps.carleton.edu/admissions/apply/essay_tips/
Lehigh: http://lehighadmissions1.blogspot.com/2010/11/tips-on-writing-your-college-essay.html
Connecticut College: http://www.conncoll.edu/admission/essays-that-worked.htm
Bates: http://www.bates.edu/admission/tips-for-a-great-application/writing-the-essay/
The Princeton Review: http://www.princetonreview.com/college/essay.aspx
NACAC: http://www.nacacnet.org/studentinfo/articles/Pages/Top-Ten-Tips-for-Writing-a-College-Essay-.aspx
Big Future by the College Board: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-in/essays
The New York Times Blog, The Choice: http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/today-essay/
