My daughter used the additional info section last year to explain the order of her EC’s. The CA asks, or at least has in previous years, that applicants list EC’s in order of their importance. Because numbers 1 and 3 were both sort of short term experiences (one a university summer program, the other a summer pilgrimage), she felt she needed to explain why she valued them so highly. Her GC thought it was good use of the space, and he must have been right. She is currently attending a top 20 school which was her first choice.
@Coolmom23 she got into Pomona ED1. (For what it’s worth, she also got into USC. After she got into Pomona she withdrew the other apps she had pending, some of which like USC had been submitted to meet merit aid deadlines. But USC somehow didn’t process her withdrawal and accepted her.)
Our D had an activity essay that she’d written for another school and we thought was really good and showed personality. She included it in the extra section for several “match” LACs that would be less likely to be completely inundated, that already had said that an extra recommendation was fine (so not opposed to smaller amounts of extra stuff to read) and where she was aiming for large merit aid. She was accepted to all 3 and with the substantial merit aid that she was chasing. Maybe it didn’t help but it didn’t hurt in that case.
edited to say that when D applied in 2012 you could do multiple versions of the common app to tailor to the audience.
my D was advised, “if they give you space to write, don’t waste it!” So she wrote a paragraph or 2 just speaking directly to the admissions board. It absolutely didn’t hurt her because she got in to almost every college that she applied.
Regarding…
And other similar statements…
Just like any other portion of the application, it’s hard to say what helped, what hurt, and what just didn’t make a difference. And something may make a difference for one individual but have no effect for another.
Even the “it didn’t hurt”…well, maybe it did, but not enough to make a difference…or maybe it really didn’t. We’ll just never know.
I trust the people that I know who formerly worked in college admissions. If they give me the advice to have my children write an additional essay, then I follow that advice.
OTOH, if a student truly has nothing else to say, or they just can’t think of a compelling piece of additional information, then certainly, no need to write another essay. I have found, however, that all the students that I have worked with were able to write an additional information essay that conveyed new information.
There are many schools that have a more metrics based system or who expressly say not to send additional information including recommendations. By all means listen if a school doesn’t want extra items. One way to tell is when an admissions representative comments on how much they loved the extra essay.
Some of these external counselors have been doing this for a very long time – before the huge glut of applications the top schools have today. Their advice seems dated in the current environment where there are so many thousands of applications. I sure agree that a good application is crafted, that every word counts, and that it needs to tell a consistent and compelling story. But gratuitous extra essays can be seen as disrespectful of the admissions officer’s time. “The thicker the file, the thicker the student.”
And plenty of admissions counselors are as unable as parents to tell you what did the trick. If you know a former adcom, you still have to consider their thoughts per the school they worked for and the level of kids they generally deal with. We used to have a prolific ex-adcom poster on CC who gave odd advice. turns out he primarily dealt with international applicants to a state school.
In other words, same old advice: filter. And, I heard this today, in reference to a job, but it applies to colleges: “Put yourself in their shoes.”
Not just disrespecting of the process, but sometimes, plain old poor judgment. So be careful. There is no one size fits all.
I agree that there’s no one size fits all.
As an application reader, we referred to the ‘additional info’ box as the ‘bad box,’ meaning that it’s the place where exceptional situations or circumstances - generally not upbeat ones - lived.
Here’s what a recent (10/13/15) UC system Counselors & Advisers bulletin says:
“Proper use of “Additional Comments” sections
The two additional comments boxes in the application are optional and should not be used as a continuation of a student’s personal statement. Instead, students should use this section to explain anything that may be unclear in other parts of the application. The first additional comments box follows the “Academic History” section and should be used to explain course taking or grade patterns, a circumstance that prevented the student from taking more rigorous courses, or a prolonged illness that affect their grades. The second comment area immediately follows the “Personal Statement” section. Applicants can use this area to explain a learning or physical difference, or other issues related to their academic ability.”
My son suffered a concussion the second week of senior year. Completely derailed him. He is just getting back now. He wrote a short paragraph saying when he got the concussion, how he was not able to take the SATs again this fall as planned. The gc is also writing a note, since he will have incompletes in many of his classes this term. He is so worried about how this will affect his applications. Does anyone have a similar experience? We are really hoping the colleges he is applying to understand. So nerve racking…
My son is using it to discuss the fact that he is deaf.