<p>For Early Action are we better off using the application specific to the particular college or is the Common Ap sufficient? Do applications specific the the particular college carry more weight in the Early Action process. Common Ap with appropriate supplement seems easier... but is it frowned upon?</p>
<p>Colleges that accept the Common App are supposed to pledge that they give it equal consideration. There's a great quote somewhere from the admissions dean at Johns Hopkins that says something like: "we care what's in it, not what it's on."</p>
<p>My son applied to a few colleges that used the common app but used their institution apps for the following reason. As I understand it, the common app has its own essay prompt (generic) and usually there's a supplemental app that each college has, that asks for another essay. In my son's case, he wanted to write all his essays specifically directed toward the college, so the universal common app prompt wasn't always the best way to go. Since he wanted to tailor his main essay to whatever college he was applying to, he went with the institutional applications.</p>
<p>I'm thinking if you go with the institutional ap the "recommendations" are in a form type format, boxes to check. Wouldn't the GC or teacher that is doing the recs get tired of filling out say 8-10 different forms?</p>
<p>If somebody wants to write many more essays and fill in many more forms than he has to, sure it's a good thing to use the institutional apps.</p>
<p>8 to 10 different forms?
Our counseling office filled out one form which was sent out to all colleges. Didn't matter what the institutional/common form was, they had their own, which incorporated all the stuff that was asked and more. I don't think it would have mattered anyway, because don't they have to send the guidance materials (profile, transcripts, recommendation, letters) to all the colleges anyway? They are going to have to print out, fill envelopes, stamp and mail 8 to 10 different packages no matter what.</p>
<p>Back to the essay/application- it's easy to customize an essay to fit a particular school or scenario. I'm thinking about cases where a student knows that he will be better off accentuating one aspect of his resume versus another (depending on the "feel" or "culture" of a school). There are those situations where a student wants to "show the love" to a particular school; look at all those "how do I show the love to my safety" threads. Maybe the institutional app is a better way to go if a student really wants to customize his appeal to that particular college.</p>
<p>I guess the bottom line is there's no right or wrong answer. You can do whatever you want. But if you are applying EA or ED, I'm assuming it's a pretty important application, and therefore convenience and time-saving isn't necessarily a concern.</p>