Is it possible to fill out a different application for each college/university you apply to or must one use the common application? If this is allowed, are there disadvantages (besides the time investment) to doing this? If one has a unique relationship/history with certain colleges and would like this to come across in the application, wouldn’t it make sense to do this?
You need to look at the website at every school you are considering. A number of schools only use the common app. Many colleges have supplements unique to their school which are added to the common app.
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It’s not often possible. Most Common App partner schools only use the Common App
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There’s zero potential benefit in not using it. The notion that a “unique relationship/history” with a college could somehow be better shown outside the common app is unfounded.
Perhaps I am misguided in my thinking here, so I appreciate the feedback. I am new to all of this. To me it seems not so much that it would help you with a college to know such things as you have relatives that attended, you attended their summer programs as a youngster, you sat through many footballs games with your cousin, you worked as a summer counselor at their summer program, or that Great Uncle Nick gave heavily to their endowment, but that this knowledge on a common app might cause other colleges to think you may be learning towards Uncle Nick’s legacy school. It seems colleges have become so invested in their yield, and if they know of these things they may think you have loyalty to the legacy school even if you don’t. I have not filled out any apps yet, and perhaps there is not even room for these kind of things. However, if these things would help you with one school and possibly hurt you with another, I was just wondering how to handle this. I am not trying to keep things from them, but would just like to present things in the best light. I guess this brings up the question, does being a double or triple legacy hurt you at non-affiliated schools? Do they sometimes think you are leaning towards the legacy?
That’s where the school-specific supplements mentioned by @happy1 come into play. Not every school has a supplemental section, if they don’t then they don’t really care about collecting additional info and likely wouldn’t read it if you submitted it. If there is a supplement, that’s where you show your passion for that school. Other schools will not see what you put on the supplement for a particular college.
It might be helpful to you to create an account and familiarize yourself with the Common App.
I suggest that you speak to your guidance counselor and/or read up on the application process a bit so you are more familiar with it. Some things to address the situation you noted it:
–Schools that care a lot about family connections typically ask for that information in the supplement. Although part of the common app, the supplements are school specific and only the one school will see its supplement.
–Be aware that different colleges define “legacy” differently. For some it is just parents who attending the school, others include grandparents, etc. So you would need to find out who in your family would make you a legacy applicant for that particular school.
–Again, schools often have supplements which are individual to each school where you could work in that you have gone to football games etc.
–Uncles rarely count towards official legacy status (again, each school is different) but if “Great Uncle Nick” is a huge donor he could write a letter of support for your application directly to admissions, to his contacts at the school or wherever he thinks it will do the most good. However, I would not ask “Great Uncle Nick” to do this unless you are 100% committed to attending the school if accepted.
–If a school is your clear #1 choice and if you have no need to compare financial offers you can see if there is a binding Early Decision program and apply through that. ED, if available, is generally the best way to show commitment to a college.
@oak2maple - you can have alternate versions of the Common App. In your case, if there’s one school you want to address specifically in your app, I suggest you make a second common app just for that school. It’s easy.
On edit: I do not mean a second common app account, but a second app within your account. Search around & you’ll find instructions to do so.
Be careful, when K1 applied you could change everything on your application except your essay, that could only have 3 versions, so K1 did all the Essay Version 1 schools, then Version 2 schools, even if the due dates were not the same so some K1 ended up sending in a month early.
There is a section called additional information, if need be you can change it for Uncle Nicky’s school and then change it back after (again check to make sure that is still possible), although talking about Uncle Nicky’s donations is usually not done. Maybe you can talk about how your uncle (full name and year of graduation) took you to football games or whatever and that is why you love the school.
Everything on the Common App done before some time in the summer is deleted when the new one comes out on August 1, unless they are letting you start earlier. So if you do sign up for an account, keep a copy on your computer of any essays or supplements you do.