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The Common Application
What is the Common Application?
The Common App is a single application that is accepted by most colleges and universities to which Friends’ students will apply. Students fill out the Common Application online, and can submit it directly to their colleges.
How do you access the Common Application?
The Common Application is at www.commonapp.org. Logging in and beginning the registration process does not take any preparation, and everything you enter can be edited at a later date.
How do you register?
● Go to www.commonapp.org and click “Create an Account.” Enter your email address and select a password – be certain this is an email address you check frequently as it will be shared with the colleges to which you apply so that they can provide updates regarding your application – click “continue”
● Enter your “Registration Information” – identify yourself as a “first-year student” and an “applicant planning to enroll within the next 12 months.” Check both boxes indicating that you agree to the terms
● Click “Create”
Once you register, you will see 5 tabs at the top of your page:
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Dashboard – will display all of your colleges and the status of your work for each major application component including deadlines and a quick overview of your progress.
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My Colleges – provides a list of your colleges in the left hand column and indicates college information such as phone numbers, deadlines, fees, and requirements. This is also where you will complete any college specific questions including additional writing supplements
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Common App – where you complete your general biographical information that is consistent and will be submitted to all of your colleges. This information should be completed first
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College Search – allows you to search for and add different colleges to your Dashboard.
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Financial Aid - provides a variety of information regarding financial aid.
Where to begin?
You should begin by completing the information in the “Common App” tab. Fields with a red “*” are required. Please complete this form as thoroughly and accurately as possible. When you complete a section, please click the burgundy “Continue” button and your information will automatically be saved.
Things to note about the Common Application
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You can see a print preview of each section of the Common Application as you complete it. There is a “Preview” button in the upper right hand corner of each page.
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Each section of the application has a help feature showing you how to complete it. This is located just to the right of the “Preview” button noted in the above bullet-point.
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The Personal Statement has a strict word limit, a maximum of 650 words.
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In the Additional Information section students are not allowed to upload documents such as resumes; a strict word limit is enforced.
What's next?
As you identify colleges to which you definitely plan to apply, you should start to enter specific colleges into the “My Colleges” area using the “College Search.” You are limited to 20 colleges in your “Dashboard” (although, no one should be submitting that many applications), so you should only enter colleges that you are confident to which you will be submitting an application. During our individual meetings we will also be determining a plan for Early Decision/Early Action/Regular Decision applications. Under each college name in the “My Colleges” tab, you will find details about the application fee, deadlines, and requirements. Additionally, this area will include college specific questions and any additional writing supplements that may be required for each. These additional writing samples, no matter how long, should also be reviewed by your college counselor prior to submission. Once you have submitted the application to one college, it is possible to return to the application and edit it for future submissions to other colleges.
