<p>Should I make an account and start exploring the Common App website? I'm a junior right now.</p>
<p>No. Wait until August. There’s no need to start stressing yourself out over college applications, nor is there any need to start working on them before August.</p>
<p>No. Come August, all existing accounts are dumped. Thus, if you made one now, it would be deleted in August, before you could submit it anywhere.</p>
<p>Obviously, if you really wanted, you could save your essays and longer information elsewhere, but you can get the feel of what’s on the app by just looking at the downloadable copy. There’s no reason to make an account.</p>
<p>the only reason to make an account is to look around the site, since existing accounts are deleted in august. i’m a junior too and i made an account mainly because i was curious, but i basically spent about 15 minutes on it and never went back since there was no point in starting anything…if you’re curious i would recommend making an account just for the hell of it, since there are really no downsides.</p>
<p>There’s no need to make an account: There are PDF versions available to look at.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks. I printed off a copy of the PDF, but I’m curious about how we submit our information online. Does that mean we can send our applications directly to the colleges online?</p>
<p>@batfan, only for colleges that are participants of the Common App (fyi check out QuestBridge; I regret not using it)</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that mostly each school will require their own supplements.</p>
<p>Yes you can send common application and supplements online to any school that uses the common application. Please note supplements change from year to year so if you start essays before the supplements come out in the summer, you may find that the essay topics have changed.</p>
<p>@kjunhyun,
I got an email from QuestBridge, but I’m not in the income bracket they are looking for. What do you mean using QuestBridge?</p>
<p>@milkweed,
I read on another post that most supplements remain the same year after year, although I’d thought that they changed annually too. Is there a list somewhere on CC that says which ones change and which supplements don’t?</p>
<p>bump 
:D</p>
<p>I don’t think that there is, but the supplements are easy and don’t take that much time.</p>
<p>Some schools don’t change their supplements, but many do. Best to write the Common App essay now if you’re eager and wait for the rest.</p>