<p>i am SO confused about this application process!!!
a) what is the common application?
b) do my teachers have to write a different recommendation for every single one of the schools that apply to???? (bcoz i am applying to 11 and thats a lot of work for them!!)
c) can i take the november sat is i am applying early somewhere??
SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!</p>
<p>Well, I'm not entirely sure if this is a joke or not, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and answer your questions.</p>
<p>1) The Common App serves as the primary application form for those schools that support it. (Not every school does, but many do. Cornell, for example, takes the Common App, while Stanford does not.) <a href="http://www.commonapp.org%5B/url%5D">www.commonapp.org</a> should get you started. But don't forget that most competitive schools have a supplement to the common application that they want you to complete, usually asking things like "why is XXX the right school for you" or giving the option of submitting a supplemental essay.</p>
<p>2) No. They will write one recommendation and you send it to each college. Perhaps if one of the schools you're applying to is the alma mater of said teacher, they will be willing to write a modified one for that school. But you give them all the forms (filled out in advance of course) and they just write "see attached" and staple their recommendation to it.</p>
<p>3) That depends on the school. I know that at Brown, if you do early decision (which is November 1), they will accept the scores from the November test if you have the reports automatically sent. (That is, if you select Brown as one of your 5 or however many schools that they'll send a free report to as soon as the scores are available).</p>
<p>Re teacher recommendations - be sure to check what your school's policy is for handling both teacher and counselor recommendations - there is probably a procedure already in place. For example, most schools will mail recommendations directly to the colleges rather than give them to the student.</p>
<p>so recommendations are just xeroxed (copied multiple times) and a copy is sent to the school?</p>
<p>I've heard that.</p>
<p>The subject of the November SAT and early applications came up on another thread recently. Someone had done a bit of research on this subject and found that many places (like all of the Ivies, for instance) will take the test. Any school you are considering can tell you for certain -- it should either be on the web site (you may need to search) or the instructions for the application. If not, just ask them.</p>