It’s August 1 which means that the Common Application is now available for high school seniors to begin submitting their 2012-2013 college applications. Keep in mind that not ALL colleges are on the CommonApp. Colleges offered through the CommonApp agree to a holistic admissions process. This doesn’t mean that other colleges not on the CommonApp are less holistic in their approach. When you are applying to colleges that use their own application, be sure to review their admissions policies before applying. Reviewing the policies can be helpful as you think through how to respond to essay questions.
For this year’s CommonApp, there are 2 essay questions. The first one, which can be a bit more challenging to write, is short and sweet:
Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences
For the second essay, applicants can choose one from this list of prompts:
1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
2. Discuss some issue of personal local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
4. 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.
5. 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 important of diversity to you.
6. Topic of your choice.
In future blog postings, I will discuss strategies for responding to each of these essays. In the meantime, here are 3 quick tips to get you started:
- Avoid looking at sample essays! They are too distracting and say nothing about your uniqueness
- Work through the first 5 topics before you “cop out” and choose the 6th prompt. . . . it really should be different from the others!
- Do not mention any college by name in these common essay questions
Good luck with this exciting process, Class of 2013!