<p>I've heard from a number of rising seniors who had hoped to complete college applications (especially Common App supplements) in July, before getting bogged down with August commitments (and, of course, the start of the school year). But many are finding that the newest applications, supplements, etc. aren't yet available.</p>
<p>Has this happened to you? If so, does it annoy you or stress you or does it merely allow you to enjoy the first part of your summer without guilt that you're slacking?</p>
<p>In our house, the parent wishes it was live and available now because we know what Aug/Sept etc brings.
otoh the rising sr is happy to not be thinking about writing an essay - and has just started thinking about essays after being busy with camp, EC etc
8/1 is probably reasonable. I do hope supplements are ready promptly.</p>
<p>Extremely annoyed. My kid IS going away in August, and she really needed to use July productively. As it is, I’m nagging her to write the common ap essay. Still. The colleges should have given the kids the summer to work on them.</p>
<p>Yeah definitely. I mean it’s likely that I would procrastinate a lot anyway, but there were a few days that I was extremely motivated to get going and couldn’t. It would just be easier if they were released sooner so we could plan as we want to.</p>
<p>Have to agree with everyone - it would have been so helpful to have access to the material much earlier. August is very late to get started, particularly if there are many supplemental essays to tackle.
Also, in some areas of the country, school starts in mid August, leaving those kids very little time to get a jump on things.</p>
<p>My own son is only a rising junior, but I was just thinking about this issue because he had a very busy July, and August should be more wide open. So it occurred to me that, if next summer turns out to be the reverse, it would be nice for him to make some application headway as soon as school gets out … yet he’ll be limited in what he can do if the colleges don’t have their materials available. </p>
<p>Summer can be the sanest time for students to work on applications (not that the word “sane” can easily be associated with ANY aspect of this process :eek:). And mythreesons1144 makes a good point about the many high schools that start in August, which really hampers those who want to get a jump start on applications before they’re back in the classroom.</p>
<p>Some of the blame falls on the Common App, but most falls on the schools, which could easily put their new essay prompts on their websites in June.</p>
<p>I definitely wish it was available at least in early July. I mean, this is my senior year, and my IB teachers are all cracking down to get us ready for exams, not to mention the fact that we only have a handful of days off before applications are due, so I’ll have to fit it in when I can, on weekend, assuming I don’t have any projects due.</p>
<p>The only redeeming factor is that my school doesn’t actually start until August 19th, so I do have a little time between when the application finally comes out and when I go back.</p>
<p>I personally could care less. Several of the essays that I do need to write are already online and I have simply procrastinated writing them anyway. Besides I have been so busy with other stuff that August is the ideal time for me to work on apps anyway.</p>
<p>We wrote our essays in AP English last year. I have spent the summer taking a summer class, doing volunteer work, and polishing up for the SAT 2 tests in October. I also have been revising my essay. The fact that it does not come up until August is a good thing. If it were up already, I would be pouring over that and not spending time on the more important things- like the actual essay.</p>
<p>Yes I’m really annoyed that I’m not EVEN able to see what the UC application looks like. I would love to have a head start, I’m taking an AP class next year and it’s really going stress me out.</p>
<p>Wow does this thread make me feel lazy. I wrote most of my essays at the end of December (excluding the UCs which had an earlier deadline) and got into most schools I appled to. As I recall most of my friends, including those who appled to incredibly selective schools, did the same. </p>
<p>There are very few high schoolers that are so busy that they cannot spend a few weekends writing and revising supplements.</p>
<p>Last year one of the schools where my D2 applied didn’t have the supplement available until October. That was ridiculous… some schools have significant supplemental essay requirements, and we had to keep checking back until this one was available. Especially for kids who have significant sports or EC commitments during the fall and winter, time management is crucial. It sure made me annoyed as a parent.</p>
<p>My kid was not one to sit down and bang out an essay in a day. She needed to mull over her topic and consider the angles before digging in and completing it. Plus knowing ALL the supplement questions can help the kid strategize on how to use the Common App essay and Common App EC essay space (don’t want to overlap with the school supplement, but want to provide a consistent, complete picture to the colleges). She wanted to see all of her essay prompts for all schools before finalizing how to handle the Common App components.</p>
<p>I think colleges who want to participate in the Common App should be required to provide their supplemental forms at the same time the App itself is available (August 1).</p>
<p>I think that it’s fine as it is now. The college does have things to do over the summer. You know, most colleges have summer classes. Plus organizing for incoming first-year students. And returning students. If they wait until August to put out the new applications, they push off having to deal with applications. If they were to put out the essays earlier, they would get applications earlier and they don’t necessarily want that. Oh, and also, when you have those application fees, it’s a matter of which year’s finances it’s supposed to go on.</p>
<p>They could release the essay prompts but not the application. Pomona has put its new prompts on its Admissions Facebook page, but that doesn’t mean you can apply yet.</p>
<p>“I think colleges who want to participate in the Common App should be required to provide their supplemental forms at the same time the App itself is available (August 1).” @intparent
I think that is a requirement this year</p>