Did you customize your Common App essay?

Transfer Students
1

<p>I know the Common App essay is supposed to be the same for all schools, but the Common App allows you to create multiple versions of your application, thereby allowing you to submit a unique essay to each school. I've been considering doing this so that some of the college may think I'm only appling to one school. </p>

<p>Has anyone here done this? Do you guys think it's a good idea?</p>

2

<p>General rule:</p>

<p>If a school has a supplement asking Why X, then there is no need to tailor it. You’ll just be reiterating the same information and will sound redundant.</p>

<p>If a school does not have a supplement asking Why X, then I would suggest customizing it to the specific school.</p>

<p>Numerous of people have customized their essays but I would advise following the rules above. After all if you end applying to 10 schools would you want to write 10 unique essays?</p>

3

<p>Actually, only one of my colleges use the CommonApp and that college doesn’t have a Why X supplement so I made the CommonApp essay a bit more specific.</p>

4

<p>I only applied to one school that required the use of the Common App, and I’d honestly written most of the essay already before I realized the Common App instructions said not to customize it. I sent an email to the school mentioning that I had, and asked if they’d prefer if I didn’t and directly answered their (considerably shorter) “Why X?” essay, and the admissions officer said that customizing the Common App one was just fine and that they rather expected me to have customized it anyway.</p>

5

<p>I have applied to 4 schools, but all are larger schools in an urban area. Moving from small school in rural area. so the essay fits all 4. 2 require supplements.</p>

6

<p>wait-- so how do we customize our common app essays to specific schools?</p>

7

<p>How can I create an alternate version of my application?

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