Common App adds 37 new campuses

As of its official announcement on Monday, the Common Application will now be accepted at 490 colleges and universities beginning with the 2012-2013 application season.

That total includes the 37 campuses that have been approved to join the Common Application family of schools that must adhere to stringent holistic review policies and that agree to treat the Common App, as it is more popularly known, as equally as they do their own institutional application (if still utilized).

The institutions most recently approved for Common App membership include:

• Alma College (Alma, MI)
• Anna Maria College (Paxton, MA)
• Blackburn College (Carlinville, IL)
• Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI)
• College of St. Joseph (Rutland, VT)
• Concordia University Irvine (Irvine, CA)
• Dillard University (New Orleans, LA)
• Elms College (Chicopee, MA)
• Emory & Henry College (Emory, VA)
• Grove City College (Grove City, PA)
• Hult International Business School (Boston, Dubai, London, San Francisco, Shanghai) 
• Keele University (Newcastle, Staffordshire UK)
• Keuka College (Keuka Park, NY)
• Lincoln University (Lincoln University, PA)
• Lyon College (Batesville, AR)
• Manchester College (North Manchester, IN)
• Marymount University (Arlington, VA)
• Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (North Adams, MA)
• Mercer University (Chamblee, GA)
• Molloy College (Rockville Centre, NY)
• The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH)
• Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI)
• Richmond The American International University in London (Surrey, England)
• Roanoke College (Salem, VA)
• Rowan University (Glassboro, NJ)
• Saint Joseph College (West Hartford, CT)
• Simpson College (Indianola, IN)
• Soka University of America (Aliso Viejo, CA)
• St. Thomas University (Miami Gardens, FL)
• Tennessee Wesleyan College (Athens, TN)
• The University of Tennessee (Knoxville, TN)
• University of Illinois at Chicago (Chicago, IL)
• University of Stirling (Stirling, Scotland UK)
• Virginia Intermont College (Bristol, VA)
• Warren Wilson College (Asheville, NC)
• Woodbury University (San Diego, CA)
• Yale NUS College (Singapore)

The 2012-2013 Common App will be available beginning August 1. Until that date, Class of 2013 college-bound students may click here to preview the application and to become familiar with its components.  

2012-2013 Common Application essay prompts

As March approaches and spring break season nears, many high school juniors across the Kansas City metro area have not only begun their college search process, but will be traveling to visit collegiate campuses over the next few weeks and throughout the summer months.

And many juniors are already busy brainstorming college application essay topic ideas! For these students, there is good news for those intending to apply for admission to one or more of the 456 colleges and universities that utilize the Common Application. 

The Common App essay prompts for the 2012-2013 academic year/application season will remain the same:

• Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
• Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
• Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
• Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
• A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
• Topic of your choice.

Current juniors are invited to not only begin preparing their application essay, but to explore the Common App website. However, students should note that although they may create a username and password while investigating the site options, all accounts will be cleared on July 15, 2012. Applicants will then need to create a new user account for the 2012-2013 application cycle.

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The Universal Application: Another Option for College Bound Students

Many college bound students and their parents are aware of traditional institutional applications for admission, and as they dive deeper into the college search process, may quickly learn about the Common Application, as well. Lesser known among most applicants, but gaining ground among colleges and universities who offer it as an application option, is the Universal Application.

Similar in goal to the Common App, the Universal App seeks to allow students to complete a single application to submit to multiple schools. In addition, counselors and teachers also need only complete one form for each student applicant and are then able to send their recommendations to multiple schools. The singular form is designed not only to be a time saver, but also to encourage the applicant and his/her supporters to spend more dedicated time on the most important components of the admission file (essay, resume, letters of recommendation, etc.), rather than simply filling out forms.

Currently, 86 colleges and universities are Universal App members. The criteria for becoming an affiliate are less stringent than those of its counterpart, the Common App. Specifically, institutions must be accredited and must uphold the standards set forth by the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s (NACAC) “Statement of Principles and Good Practice,” known by its acronym as the SPGP. This code of ethics is designed to maintain a level of integrity among colleges and universities, as well as their representatives, in an effort to best serve higher education applicants.

Other differences include a student’s ability to easily create a more tailored submission to each school on his/her list versus a requirement to submit the exact same application to every school with Common App. This versatility is most notable with regard to the essay.

Additionally, the Universal App allows the applicant to include a video or a link to an online collection within the electronic application. The video “essay” received a lot of national and viral media hype during the 2009-2010 application season. This feature is a key enhancement for students who are brilliant verbal communicators, who have an audio talent such as vocal or instrumental performance, who have created a virtual portfolio of artistry, and for athletes to include video of their prowess on the field or the court.

Once a student has crafted the inventory of schools at which to apply for admission, take a look at the list of colleges and universities that accept either the Common App or the Universal App to see which best fits his/her needs, whether solely as a time saver, because all or most schools are member institutions for one application mechanism or the other, or for the flexibility of submitting specific application components online.

Note: During the summer of 2010, the Universal App is undergoing a transformation. The application will receive a make-over for the 2010-2011 academic year, so look for the changes after July 1.

Common App

As seniors in high school are preparing to complete applications for admission, no doubt they are exploring the possibility of submitting the Common Application. The Common App provides students the opportunity to dedicate time to one application accepted by the admission offices at 347 colleges/universities nationwide, including 34 campuses added for the 2008-2009 application cycle. Colleges/universities have no preference for the Common App versus an institutional document. However, some schools rely solely upon the Common App and no longer utilize their own version of an application. Only campuses whose admission staff have a holistic approach to the application review process are allowed to be Common App members. When used correctly, the Common App is a true time saver for the student, the high school college counselor, and the teachers providing letters of recommendation. However, when instructions are not followed precisely, the result can be stress inducing confusion and frustration. Once a student has created a Common App profile, freedom is offered to complete the paperwork on a personal time line, allowing revisions to be made from one day to the next. Students should be cautioned not to electronically submit the Common App until it has been fully proofed. Common App allows a student to preview the document in its entirety, which is an essential element in a successful Common App submission. Once the Common App is sent electronically to any one school, no changes may be made for other schools to which the student is applying for admission. Although this single form is welcomed by almost 350 schools, many of those do require additional documentation, referred to as supplements. This can take the shape of another required essay, further questions about your interest in that specific college/university, alumni legacy status, etc. Some institutions even require that the supplement be submitted prior to the rest of the Common App, so again, attention to the instructions is imperative. Supplements may be found on the Common App website or on the admission office web pages of individual colleges/universities. Like other applications for admission, the Common App is simply a form; one that should be filled out only after the student's resume and essay have been created in their entirety (please refer to previous post titled, "First Things First"). And although the Common App is meant to bring simplicity to the process, students should treat it as they would any separate application, whether online or on paper...with the utmost care and with a careful eye to detail. PIECES OF THE COMMON APP

• student application for admission (includes essay and resume)
• supplemental information (if required)
• teacher evaluations (may submit more than one)
• secondary school report (for high school college counselor to send with official transcripts)
• mid year report (form to accompany seventh semester grade transcript)

As with other applications for admission, the student's file is not considered complete until every aspect of the application have been received and processed by the admission office. This includes the application fee for each campus to which the Common Application is being submitted by the student. Missing items do nothing but unnecessarily delay the process for students. If two or more colleges/universities on a student's prospect list are Common App institutions, investigate this helpful tool...it can save a lot of time, energy, and stress for high school seniors!