The Common Application for Undergraduate College Admissions

Is it right for me?

By Matthew Bullington

If you have started the college application process, you will quickly realize that there is a substantial amount of information that you have to enter over, and over, and over again.  This can be tiring enough on its own, but when you add in the number of essays you have to write (especially for the private and more-selective universities) and how most of those essays are different enough to prohibit you from recycling what you write, the process can become downright exhausting.  The Common Application for Undergraduate College Admissions was specifically developed to help alleviate your workload.  So what is the application, and is it worth your time?

The Common Application is like a regular college application, except you fill it out once and then send it to any of the participating universities.  It is specifically designed for universities that use subjective criteria in their application process, including an essay, recommendations from a counselor or teacher, and information to allow for the selection of a diverse student body.  You have the option of completing a paper application and mailing it in, or completing the application online (recommended).  The application asks for your personal data, educational history, test scores, family information, academic honors, extracurricular and service activities, work experience, a personal essay (suggested possible topics are provided), as well as teacher/counselor recommendations.  Once you have completed the application you can have it sent out to any of the participating universities, along with the application fee (if required) of that specific institution.

So is the Common Application the right choice for you?  One thing to remember is that this isn’t for all universities.  At the time of publication there are 315 universities in the U.S. that currently participate, all of which have a “holistic” a pproach to the application process (as described earlier), using both objective and subjective criteria.  So if your focus is mainly on non-selective public universities then this application is probably not for you.  If on the other hand you are considering several more-selective universities, take some time to check out the list of participating schools to see whether it includes institutions you are considering (list available here).  One other thing to consider is that several of these universities also require supplemental material, so while the Common Application will help reduce your work, it is very unlikely that it will be the only application you have to complete (even if all the universities you are considering accept the application).

I hope this helps you evaluate the option of using the Common Application.  It definitely isn’t for everyone, but it is an option to consider and can save some individuals valuable time in the college application process.  Check it out!

Matthew