<p>Hi folks,</p>
<p>We are going through the college application process with child #3 right now. My other two children did not use the common app, but I am thinking of pointing this child in that direction. I had always thought it best to apply to each college online, but the ease of the common app is so appealing. 5 of the 6 schools she is applying to accept it.</p>
<p>Are there any compelling reasons not to use the common app? Please enlighten me:)</p>
<p>We are thinking about this as well. Some schools - such as Duke - only take the common app. However, we were thinking that doing the school's app - for schools that have one - show an intense interest in that school rather than the impression that you are applying to lots of schools with the hopes of making one of them. Don't know if this is a correct viewpoint or not.</p>
<p>Well now you cannot customize the application for different colleges.</p>
<p>Yea, there are downsides...you have to do a supplement anyways so what the.....</p>
<p>If the school has its own application, then the same information from that is repeated in their "supplement" or individual part of the common app. The only thing you send to all the schools is the first part with your name and some more generic essays. Most of the more competitive schools will have different essay choices in their supplement that mirror their own app. Likewise, their own app probably has a generic choice that mirrors the common app one. All in all, you usually aren't giving them any more or different information in the common app or in their own app, so I don't see why it matters (and they sign a disclaimer stating they will show no preference). Of the schools I applied to on the common app, three out of four did not maintain their own application, and the 4th did not maintain their own application if you were applying online (which they prefer). These were all top 30 schools. UVa does not take the common app and has their own online application which has a MUCH better format than the common app - it's configured so the teachers can send the recs online too which they greatly prefer for obvious reasons.</p>
<p>No, just do the common app. It's so much easier.</p>
<p>There are so many more important things in the application process (such as grades. class rank and recs) than whether one uses the common app or the school specific one.</p>
<p>Some other time wasters, IMHO, are debating whether hand written is better than electronic, trying to show enthusiasm by forced efforts to contact faculty and so forth.</p>
<p>The admissions process is not a game. Those adcoms DO know what they're doing, at least in most cases, and can see through most of our applicant/parental gamesmanship efforts. </p>
<p>JMHO.</p>
<p>One of my kids applied to thirteen terrific schools and was accepted to all but two. One of them was the one that required its own application.</p>
<p>The Common App is fine.</p>
<p>My D applied to & schools using the common app and was accepted to all 7. I agree with newmassdad that the bulk of the things that you are going to be evaluated on are not going to change whether you use the school application or the common app. The net-net is that it is going to be what is in the application that matters, not what format you use.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies. She is not applying to highly selective schools, so that is not an issue. I just wanted to cover all bases. She is highly independent and does not want my help filling out her apps, (which is so refreshing after going through this process with her siblings!) so I'm trying to make it easier on her.</p>