Is the Common App bad?

I don’t know what schools I want to apply to, and my teacher needs my forms for recs tomorow. I really want to narrow down between Harvard, Princeton, and Yale (I don’t even know if the last two accept Common Apps…) but I don’t know which ones so I figured the best way to appease this problem would be to use the common app and just give my teacher a rec form for the common ap. Now I’m kind of confused though. With the common app, would the teachers give it back to me directly and I would send it in myself and make copies of it or what?

Also, do you think it would look bad if I used the common app instead of their regular application (except for Harvard, which only uses the common app).

Thanks for all of your help!

<p>It can't look bad. From what I've heard (from a boston college admissions officer), colleges sign a contract saying that they have to treat a common app like their own normal app.</p>

<p>bump... does anyone know how it actually works? like do i give only one rec to my teacher and then make copies myself?</p>

<p>can i have teachers do recs on paper and have my part done online?</p>

<p>i have the same question </p>

<p>and i dont even see any teach recs on the common app
i need this asap</p>

<p>also is there anywhere that says anything about a councler page and transcript?</p>

<p>if you're doing the common app online, you get the teach recs and counselor forms under the additional forms tab. you print those out and give those to your teachers and college counselor. ask your teacher if they want you to make as many copies of the rec form as schools you are applying to or if they will just fill out one and make the copies themselves. each teacher is different. also, yes you can have your teachers fill out their forms on paper while you do your part online. hope this helps. :)</p>

<p>sunkist, thanks for you quick reply. Is it okay to make the copies myself? I still don't even know how many schools I want to apply to.</p>

<p>Also, how do I get the school's supplemental stuff for the common app? For instance, some schools give me their OWN app but they also say that they accept the common app. And most schools will usually have supp. stuff for the common app.. how do I get it?</p>

<p>your welcome, collegebound123. yeah, it's fine to make the copies yourself before giving the rec to your teachers. i guess you should figure out first how many schools you want to apply to though. if you have deadlines coming up, make copies for schools that you are sure you are applying to. you can always give additional copies to your teachers. it is the same form. it seems best though if the teacher can just fill it out once themselves and then make the necessary copies. that way they don't have to fill out the same form many times. i recommend asking the teacher what they would prefer to do. personally, all of my teachers made their own copies.</p>

<p>no i meant can i give them one form, have them fill it out, and then later copy the form myself? like with a copy machine... o.x</p>

<p>CB, you generally get the supplemental stuff from the college itself. For many, you can download it off their website. Some, you have to contact the Admissions office and have them send it to you.</p>

<p>hmm...well if your teachers don't mind having you read their rec, then i guess it's fine if they fill out once and then you copy it yourself. it's just at my school, the teachers don't allow us to read our recs. that way they can be truthful in their recs. i guess it differs by high school. good luck!</p>

<p>I figured out a solution, I just had the teachers make the copies themselves and then seal each one in an envelope.</p>

<p>Daughter applied to all of her schools (including an IVY) using the common app. For teacher And GC recs, she gave them each their form, she typed in her personal information, and gave every one 7 stamped envelopes with the schools that the recs should be mailed to. what the teachers did was fill out the form, type their letters and made copies themselves.</p>

<p>Inside of each envelope, was a postcard addressed to our house on one siade and other other side , she wrote received, name of the school, in the corner she wrote TC rec and the teacher who she gave the rec to. The schools were excellent about stamping the post card, for the date which they received the information and mailing it back to her. That way she knew who sent what.</p>

<p>As far as the supplemental stuff, she sent each school what they asked for (additional essays, graded papers, etc) in separate envelopes again inserting a postcard addressed home, so her had her own records of who had what.</p>

<p>It was a great time saver and she got accepted to all 7 schools</p>

<p>If you are doing Common App online, there is a "supplements" tab where it will give you links to the supplements for the schools you are sending the application to. I love the Common App, it made applying to schools so much easier.</p>

<p>Does anyone think that going over the word limit is a bad thing? The only reason I ask is because the common app will just attach an additional page if you go over and it can fit a 1000 word essay. My essay is somewhat descriptive and it is 1000 words. I dont think I can make it less than 800 and keep the original quality of the essay. What do you think?</p>

<p>absolutely do not submit a 1000 word essay. Don't go over 600. They want to see your writing skills, and that includes as much as anything being concise. I'm sure there are many cuts you can make to get it down to 500ish without losing its quality. Remember..it says UP TO 500...so they obviously don't want a long essay.</p>

<p>
[quote]
5. fully support the use of the Common Application and give equal consideration to it and other institutionally endorsed application forms.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>So, they MUST give equal credit to the Common App.</p>