<p>I can't find answers or opinions to this question. Thank you in advance for any insight you could provide.</p>
<p>My daughter is a current junior. She hopes to work on a spreadsheet with her college choices over the summer, and some applications, including the Common App essay.</p>
<p>In your experience, when a school offers use of the Common App, do they also offer a "non-common app"? Do you have the choice of to use the Common App, or not use it?</p>
<p>And thus, if you choose not to use it, do you feel chances would be better using the specific-to-the-school application?</p>
<p>Willing to spend the time necessary to work on 10-15 applications and several essays. Just need to know, in your opinions, what increases the chances of admissions.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for any insight.</p>
<p>That’s a great question. My feeling is that if the school participates in the Common App, then they will not differentiate. Any specific info they want can be taken care of with the Common App supplement which almost all schools use.</p>
<p>If both options are offered, take look at both and then decide. Sometimes it is worth it to use the college’s own application instead - especially if it is only the first or second year for that place using Common App because sometimes all the bugs haven’t been worked out.</p>
<p>When my daughter applied to college in 2010-11, she used the Common App for most, but not all, of her applications.</p>
<p>At the time, American University used the Common App and didn’t require a supplement–which sounds too good to be true! But American’s proprietary application offered her the chance to write a “Why American?” essay, and the Common App without a supplement wouldn’t have. She was sure she could write a really good “Why American?” essay. In the end, she was admitted to AU, invited into the honors program and offered a generous merit scholarship. How much of that was owing to the “Why American?” essay? We’ll never know, but I think she’s still glad she wrote it.</p>
<p>I believe American has since changed how it uses the Common App–I am pretty sure there’s a supplement now–but the story still illustrates one way in which using a college’s proprietary application might be advantageous.</p>
<p>Thank you, everyone, and yes, Sikorsky, this is just the kind of anecdote for which I was hoping. </p>
<p>Appreciative of all replies!</p>