<p>Would it be wise to make an account now (I'm a junior) and to take note of the prompts and what's required in the application so I won't be too stressed out when senior year approaches? </p>
<p>Also, do the essay/supplement prompts change each year, or are they roughly the same? When should I start thinking about/working on them?</p>
<p>It’s fine to make an account early just to see how the app looks and what questions are asked. If you enter any information, though, it will be lost in August when all accounts are wiped out annually. </p>
<p>Prompts don’t usually change much from year to year, however this year was an exception because the “choose your own topic” prompt was deleted for the first time and prompts were revised to promote more self-reflection in the essays. </p>
<p>Supplement prompts at some schools change more from year to year than at others. Some schools always ask for a short essay about the school motto or a favorite activity, others come up with unusual and interesting new prompts every year.</p>
<p>When to start working on them is entirely up to you. It also depends on whether you will be applying to any rolling schools and aiming for an August submission. Our S was able to start thinking about his main essay late in spring term of his junior year and have it pretty well written by August, but D’s essay revolves around her experiences during summer and early fall senior year. She didn’t start thinking about it until mid-August. Some of her classmates who didn’t apply early anywhere didn’t begin their apps until later in September.</p>