<p>Last year my son put his resume in the additional info box. He put his volunteer work under Employment. There is also a box to write about one of your EC's in depth. </p>
<p>I would stress quality over quantity. It seems highly unlikely that one student could have over 7 EC's to be highly passionate about. You could also summarize - for example my son held many roles in his school newspaper but just put them on one line.</p>
<p>"I would stress quality over quantity. It seems highly unlikely that one student could have over 7 EC's to be highly passionate about."</p>
<p>Well, maybe not 7 ECs but definitely over 7 distinct activities related to ECs. There is a difference between saying "Science Activities" and specifying Science Bowl and/or other science competitions and/or special programs that were participated in. Being able to specify seems to be what would allow a school to diffentiate between someone who has an interest and someone who pursued many opportunities related to that interest. Also, not all activities are self-explanatory and the space is very limited for any descriptions of more unusual or lesser-known activities. But it is very helpful to know about the additional box and to be able to put volunteer work under employment. I'm glad this topic came up.</p>
<p>TutuTaxi</p>
<p>My son submitted the CA to all his schools at once, fairly early in the fall. Then he did supplements for his EA schools, then focused on each remaining school's supplement, one at a time. The ones with the latest deadline got their supplements last. I felt the CA gave a sort of psychological advantage because a big chunk of all his apps was taken care of in one fell swoop. I tried to rush my son on the supplements, but he was right to take it more slowly and focus in on each school, one at a time. He was able to re-use a lot of supplemental essay and short answer from one app to the next, but he made thoughtful changes to reflect the subtle differences in the schools. This worked very well for him.</p>
<p>How do you attach the essay to the common application form....?? There does not seem to be any room to cut and paste...</p>
<p>There is a difference between saying "Science Activities" and specifying Science Bowl and/or other science competitions and/or special programs that were participated in. >></p>
<p>I would list awards from science competitions under the "Academic honors" section.</p>
<p>As Chevda suggests, send in an activity resume if your son feels his activities need more explanation. But even that should be streamlined and focus on the MAJOR activities, not every activity. Admissions people spend limited time on each application -- you want to make every moment count. The more there is to wade through, the less likely any one thing will stand out.</p>
<p>Finally, I agree with Bethievt's son's approach: Prioritize which colleges are most important. Send the CA one by one, doing the supplements, and perhaps customizing the CA a bit for each one, in their order of importance. Don't send everything all at once.</p>
<p>Actually, my son sent the CA to everyone at once and then did the supplements. His schools were so similar in many ways that he felt only the supplements needed to be individualized. This saved him a lot of time and effort and also, I think, gave the psychological edge of, "I've already applied to all 10 schools; I just need to put the finishing touches on." If he'd started fresh with each of them, the job would have seemed much larger. Then again, he's attending the third one he sent an app to. He could have stopped there, but we had no way of knowing where he'd be accepted and he hadn't picked out a first choice at that point.</p>
<p>The point I was making about the supplements is he was slow and deliberate with them. He'd spend time on each web site, re-read the guides and focus on what was special and unique about each school that fit who he is as a student and person. His "Why XX?" wasn't so very different from one school to the next, because the schools were similar, but each was subtlely tailored to each individual college. Had he popped them all out in a weekend, he couldn't have done such a thoughtful job.</p>
<p>You can always mail extra things to the schools to be considered part of your file. D made an activities resume that gave greater detail relating to her ECs on the common app that she sent in to each school.</p>
<p>There may be some schools that strictly prohibit extra items. But most schools wouldn't kick out your application just because you sent an activities resume by snail mail.</p>
<p>Just a quick note of advice. If you happen to be copy pasting an essay (or anything really) into the common application, do a proof read after pasting it!
The commmon app does strange things to some of Word's formatting. I remember ampersands and symbols cropping up all over my essays. I ended up proofreading each one many times.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if there is an error, and you submit and notice it afterward, don't worry, so long as your meaning/intent is evident, the admissions officers won't notice it/mind.</p>
<p>Thanks, bethievt. I really like your S's approach. What happens if after you submit the CA you receive an award or participate in another activity? Can you add to or change your CA? Will each school receive the updated CA? TIA :)</p>
<p>Once it's submitted, you can't make changes to the online version. You would have to send a corrected hard copy to each school and tell them to ignore the electronic version. You can, however, edit in between submissions. That's why I tend to be extra cautious and recommend going one by one. It's better to send a mistake to one school then all of them. Also, I have seen kids "forget" to do the supplements for a school or two in the heat of hitting "submit" for the main CA and getting caught up in feeling like they are done. So, maybe I'm paranoid, but I recommend going one by one in some order of priority. </p>
<p>Of course, if you proofread carefully the first time around, and aren't likely to "forget" things easily, then Bethievt's son's approach is fine too. :) </p>
<p>Or, you can use CalMom's daughter's approach and go the "old-fashioned" route and send hard copies of everything by mail. (Check with the individual schools though - more and more are accepting online only).</p>
<p>Really, though, there is no absolute right or wrong way. It depends on what feels most comfortable to each student.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Actually, my son sent the CA to everyone at once and then did the supplements. His schools were so similar in many ways that he felt only the supplements needed to be individualized.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>One disadvantage to this approach involves the essays.</p>
<p>Sometimes, a particular college's supplement will ask for an additional essay, with a specific prompt. If the prompt is very similar to the one that the student chose for his Common App essay, the two essays are likely to duplicate each other. In such an instance, the student might want to write another Common App essay, in response to a different prompt, just for the purpose of this one application.</p>
<p>I suppose that could happen Marian, but it wasn't an issue for my son in his 10 apps. Most of the schools asked "Why us?" for their supplement. A few also wanted some short answers. A student could look ahead at each schools app to see if this would be a problem.</p>
<p>My Ds ACT scores are better than her SAT scores. Her SAT scores arent low just not as high as her ACT scores. On the Common App is she required to self report her SAT scores? She did not have her scores sent to her high school or any college.</p>
<p>Also are you required to self report AP test scores?</p>
<p>If the college doesn't require SATs, you don't have to send them. No, you don't have to report AP scores. If they want them, they'll ask for them on the supplement.</p>
<p>I asked that question last year - many schools will consider whatever you send to them. If she doesn't want them to consider her SAT scores, she doesn't have to list them on the app or send her official score reports.</p>
<p>Another thing to watch out for: schools that have a deadline for the supplement that is earlier than their main Common Ap deadline. My daughter missed the supplement deadline at Conn College. I think it was on a Friday and she noticed and submitted it the following Tuesday and was still accepted, but it might have been a different outcome if she had waited right up until the main Common Ap deadline, which was a month or so later.</p>
<p>Ds h/s does not have NMS or any other honors organizations. Would it be appropriate in the Academic Honors section of the Common Application to in some way state that the h/s does not have scholastic honors organizations or clubs?</p>
<p>I am currently a high school Senior and I am planning to apply to some Ivy Leagues universities. My GPA is 4.0 in a 4.0 scale, and my class rank is 1st in my class. I have received a three year full scholarship in tenth Grade for attending the American Community schools of Athens, in Greece, as one of the most outstanding students in the country, and in my new school, as well as in my previous High school in 9th Grade I have remained the top student in the class, and have received high distinction awards that are given only ot the best student in the class, for each subject the last four years in high school.
Some of my activities are Model United Nations in Hague, Globbal Young Leaders Conference in New York and Washington DC, Class Secretary, Two summer institute programs in collaboration with Tufts and Williams University each, Science editor in the school newspaper, Humanities trips in Paris and Italy, Literary Arts Magazine editor, and also worked as a volunteer in my school's summer youth camp this summer, and also I worked as a secretary for assisting in a firms organization, such as organize tax and logistics issues as well as being responsible for the admission of work force according to the Greek legislation.
Am i considered a strong candidate?</p>
<p>witty_damsel, start a new thread with your post, in the What Are My Chances forum and you'll get better responses than tacking it onto this thread.</p>
<p>Not sure where else to post this... but I hope this is it?</p>
<p>It says on the common app that if a part of the teacher recommendation is done online, all should be done online, but one of my two teachers im going to ask a rec for is NOT good with computers AT ALL. so i was going to print them out, fill out my information and then do the envelope, address, etc...</p>
<p>but then, if I dont do it online, my common app ID number doesnt appear on the bottom, and i got the impression that colleges need this common app ID? would I need to write it handwritten on the bottom myself, or is there someway i can print a copy that's blank BUT has my common app ID on it?</p>