<p>does it make a difference which one we use?</p>
<p>do they have a preference for Wharton?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>does penn/wharton prefer their own application over the common one?</p>
<p>Ya same question? Especially if you apply ED do you think the Penn APP is better off?</p>
<p>i don't know if there's an advantage, but the reason i did the common app was so that I could submit an extra optional essay that way.</p>
<p>I think I'll do Penn App since I'm applying ED, but everywhere else I'm gonna try common app. Lawls</p>
<p>well i guess i will do penn app just for penn, and common app for everywhere else</p>
<p>do we know the essay topic for penn app yet? do they change it everyyear></p>
<p>I'm not sure about that, but I know a famous one they may pull is "Write page 224 of your autobiography" or something like that</p>
<p>No difference between Common App and Penn's own app except for the fact that if you use the Common App, you have the option of writing one additional essay (With Penn app you get Why Penn and Page 214 ... with Common App you get Why Penn, Page 214 is optional but most people do it, and you have the Common App essay(s) as well). Which might be a good thing or a bad thing. </p>
<p>When I did it last year I actually ended up writing 4 long essays (don't do this) because I had Common App, Page 214, Why Penn, and the M&T one. But the "advantage" I guess is that you basically get two free-reign essays (Common App and Page 214) where you can write about anything and therefore you can show more sides of yourself or something.</p>
<p>I would choose Common because like what Pommy said, you get some extra opportunities to reveal yourself.</p>
<p>CC inflates the importance of essays. Unless the extra essay can add something to the application, it really won't help or hurt you. The most important essay is still the "Why Penn" essay. Because Penn worries a lot about yield it doesn't matter how great you are if you can't articulate just how much you want to go to Penn. </p>
<p>Rather than writing another essay, be like me, do the Penn application (it takes an hour maybe to fill everything out) and use your essay for Penn (mine was first experience) as your common app essay (while I never got to the common app, I used it for my Michigan and Maryland essays) and kill two birds with one stone. This way you can have quality essays instead of doing more work than necessary.</p>
<p>wow thanks guys</p>
<p>good points!</p>
<p>i'm gonna reconsider my choice now , probably =P</p>
<p>I don't think it really makes a big difference either way, but I would go with the Penn app. I read somewhere that most colleges that have their own app actually prefer it over common (shows you put in the extra effort for that school etc). Also, this isn't totally legitimate reasoning, but if it helps, out of the twenty kids who applied to Penn from my school, only two got in, and they were the only two who used the Penn app.</p>
<p>Hmm, there seems to be no clear consensus here on which app. So assuming they are both equal, I would take the Penn App simply because that is one less essay to write. Unless of course you are applying to other common app schools, but if you are applying early, and think you are a viable candidate, then there is a significant chance you wont have to apply anywhere else.</p>
<p>You probably should do the optional essay if you do common app though...But not having to write the common essay on the common app give you more focus on the Penn essays, which are probably more important.</p>
<p>More importantly though, write whichever you think you can shine on. If you have the PERFECT common app essay already written in your head, use that...</p>