Common Application Goes Online July 1st
June 26, 2009
The window for the Common Application (the “Common App”) will be opening on July 1st. What is the Common App, you ask? It is an undergraduate college admission application that students utilize to apply to any of the member institutions located within the United States. It serves to promote college admissions through the use of both subjective criteria (e.g., essays and recommendations) and objective criteria ( e.g., GPA and standardized exam scores). Simply put, the Common App streamlines the college application process for students choosing to apply to its member colleges.
Member colleges may require additional supplements for items not already requested on the Common App. These typically represent questions that would not be considered “common” for all institutions, such as “Did your parent attend our university?” and the like. Additional essays and questions may also be required by member colleges, with the following caveats:
- Supplement questions may not re-ask questions already asked on the Common App (except identifying information like name, address, date of birth, etc.), and
- Supplement questions may not ask questions that violate the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s Statement of Principles and Good Practice (such as “please rank order your college choices”).
There is both a first-year and a transfer application, and either may be submitted online or on paper via snail mail. Both the first-year and transfer applications allow the Common App to be filled out once online and submitted to all schools with the same information going to each. Once the application is submitted to a college via mail or online, it cannot be changed for that college; the student must contact the college directly if they wish to correct an error or provide more information. Many member institutions waive the application fee if the student submits the forms online
As of July 1, 2009, the Common Application website will list 392 colleges and universities as members, including 35 public institutions. The Common App for the Class of 2014 will be available starting on July 1st. You can go online and sign up, returning to fill in information as often as you like until you are ready to submit it to any of the member colleges. The Common App may be found by clicking here
Have a question for us about the Common App? Contact us at info@top-tiertutoring.com, or call us at 973.243.1212
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