<p>This may be a foolish question, but we are still new to this.
HS jr S. Was looking at the Common Application and the essay choices. He would like to write about his EC/volunteer job, of which he has enough knowledge to write a pretty in-depth essay. My question is--
Since the essay for the common application is supposed to be fairly short (250-500 words), should he "save" his EC essay for a specific college's application instead? He plans to apply ED to his first choice school. Are Colleges' own essay questions usually very specific, or do they encourage students to choose their own subject?
Thanks</p>
<p>Will try one more time with the above question--
If S. has a good essay topic in mind, should he use it for the common application, or save it for the individual colleges' essay requirement...?</p>
<p>It depends on the college, go to the common app website and look at the supplements and see what the colleges' essay questions are.
Generally the ones on the common app gives you a choice of things to write about.
I checked two different colleges' specific ones and they were both "why do you want to come here/study the major you are applying for"
Also I would not write any essay much longer than 500 words, otherwise they may not even bother reading it...</p>
<p>lspf72,</p>
<p>I would take this approach -- for his ED application to his first choice school, use the college's online application vs. the Common App. As a parent who has gone through this process already, I noticed the differences (subtle as they are sometimes) between a college's own admissions application and the Common App.</p>
<p>Because of these subtleties, my daughter decided to apply to her first choice college ED using the school's application process online. Yes, you're going through more effort, but after all, it's your son's first choice. I assume he will want to put forth his best effort AND show that he really is interested in the school. I know that the adcoms say they don't care which form you use, but I'm not convinced that the Common App will provide the best application. Most of the selective schools will require supplements anyway, so you'd still have to go through another step for these schools. I think it's just easier and more consistent to have as much of the application input coming from as few sources as possible. Also, the questions/formats presented for Teacher Recommendations can differ greatly between the Common App and a given college. IMHO, save the Common App for all the other college choices if you want.</p>
<p>Good advice from you both - Thanks
S. was already leaning in the direction of NorCalDad's advice, as he wants to give his ED school his best shot. Not counting sports and a couple school activities, he basically has just one EC that he's been very involved in, so he wants to put it to good use at essay time.
His guidance counselor said to go ahead with ED, but to have RD school applications completed and ready to go (no procrastinating) if the news isn't good in December, so either way he'll have plenty of writing to do.</p>
<p>lspf72,</p>
<p>
[quote]
His guidance counselor said to go ahead with ED, but to have RD school applications completed and ready to go (no procrastinating) if the news isn't good in December, so either way he'll have plenty of writing to do.
[/quote]
This is exactly the strategy my daughter took, and it worked out very well. When she received her ED acceptance in mid-December (Emory University), she stopped her application process and did not file RD applications to a number of other private colleges/universities. She was compelled to apply to the University of California system (one online app for all campuses) because of the Nov. 30 deadline and knowing that this was a hedge against her ED application. We waited a couple of months to evaluate all the financial considerations before sending in her deposit. She then retracted all of her UC applications... but as life would have it, a day after UC Berkeley announced their acceptances online, she received something in the mail that she had been accepted there -- they evidently didn't get the word that my daughter had accepted elsewhere ED. (There was no temptation to change her mind, but it provided a few chuckles. ;) ... and a little consternation because my daughter was afraid that she may have taken a "slot" away from another deserving applicant :( ) Good luck to your son!</p>
<p>Congratulations to your daughter (on both acceptances!). Son would be thrilled to get similar good news from Tufts this December...</p>