<p>After my daughter tried to fill some on-line applications and compared them to paper ones it became apparent that the former are much more restrictive in terms of letting applicants to submit more specific information about their interests, activities, honors and awards than the latter ones. For example, filling up the paper app. you get to write directly under the “EC activities” question something like</p>
<li>French club - cultural activities - Co-president</li>
<li>Music for Community Club - performing for nursing homes, senior centers, community and charity events etc. - an activity manager (11), president (12)
3.piano - 12 years of lessons, performances, competitions - honor recital
4.flute - 10 years, band - section leader
5.Vocal group - singing for charity events - singer, accompanist</li>
<li>Ethnic community club and theater - actor, singer, piano accompanist for community plays …</li>
</ol>
<p>etc.</p>
<p>compared to on-line version where you have to choose your activities from very limited non-specific drop-down menu which doesn’t neccessarily contain most of your activities, positions or honors. So, in order to better present yourself on the electronic version you need to fill that “additional page” of your app with the exact information you would place right under the related question of the paper version (leaving, therefore, that “additional” space for some more specific extended details, descriptions and explanations). Doesn’t look too efficient for me.</p>
<p>On the other hand, nowadays most colleges “strongly recomend” that students use on-line applications. </p>
<p>What those “strong recommendations” actually mean? Could there be any discrimination against “on-paper” applicants? Would they (college admission office clerks) turn paper applications into on-line version by themsleves, before amission officers start to read them? Or, on the opposite, will they print electronic version out, on paper (to take home and muse quietly on them ;))?</p>
<p>Did anybody’s kids prefer paper apps and why? What were the results? ;)</p>
<p>My kids prefered paper apps. However, they printed the common app and mailed that in. One attached a resume; one did the "additional page." They are now at an Ivy and a top LAC, so I guess it was okay.</p>
<p>The one who applied to Columbia did the online app as Columbia was quite clear that they wanted it that way.</p>
<p>This debate has raged for quite a few years now. And I think the arguments are quite strong for online apps.</p>
<p>Consider the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>on line apps are less likely to get lost or misfiled. Yes, this stuff happens. Just watch these boards in January and see the screams about missing materials that parents know was sent but colleges did not receive. The less paper the better for them.</p></li>
<li><p>they don't ask for them for 'nuthin.</p></li>
<li><p>you, as a parent can confirm receipt with your kid.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>You may want to note that many schools are now scanning all materials anyway. Makes it easier for admissions staffers.</p>
<p>While some online apps may be format limiting, consider that the colleges just may know what they're doing. i.e. if they limit your choices and space for extra curriculars, maybe they don't really consider them for admissions!</p>
<p>One big word of advice: DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST DAY, ESPECIALLY THE LAST HOUR. Servers get overloaded and crash. The same goes for FAFSA, by the way.</p>
<p>Little known factiod is that ETS sends most scores electronically. Makes you wonder why they charge at all for those score reports.</p>
<p>If you do paper apps, enclose self-addressed postcards so that you know what was received. You can also do this with letters of recommendation and school specific financial aid forms.</p>
<p>I think you have to go with your comfort level.</p>
<p>My daughter used a combination -- she did not like the Common App web site so she used paper for all schools that were Common App only -- but she found that some schools had their own online application system or used another system that was more user-friendly, so for those she opted for online. For University of Chicago she did something creative with print formatting of her essay (including an image), so she opted for paper. As far as I recall, she was accepted at every college where she submitted a paper application... so no harm done. (And I am talking about colleges that were big reaches for her, including the one she now attends). </p>
<p>I do think my daughter saw college apps as an opportunity to show her creativity, and the Common App web site in particular seemed to be too restrictive for her tastes. I think that's a design problem -- it would be fine if the web site simply provided adequate space for students to type in their own information.</p>
<p>Agree with newmassdad. Schools ask for online for a reason. If they don't give you room to detail every little thing you did with every group you ever went to a meeting for, perhaps that's because they don't want to read it. If it's important, it goes on the "additional info" page. I've seen kids list groups they belonged to, then under the description wrote "attended all meetings..." Some things go without saying. If you were in the club, you should have attended the meetings. If you were on the team, you represented your school at home and away games. etc.</p>
<p>My son did online apps but when colleges offered either common app or specific app for their university, he chose the specific app for their university.</p>
<p>If you want to send supplemental resume material, just have it sent with the transcript/high school profile/teacher and counselor recommendation. In the resume, you can say whatever you want.</p>
<p>You can also say whatever you want in the essays. And they usually always give you an extra essay to say whatever you didn't get a chance to say otherwise. </p>
<p>Here's another idea- when they ask about the activities, and only give you 50 characters per activity (or something ridiculous like that), they usually also let you put as many "activities" as you want. So split your accomplishments up. For example:</p>
<p>Concert Band: 1st chair for 3 years
Concert Band: All-State trombone, 2 years
Concert Band: Superior Solo Ratings, 4 years
Concert Band: Officer; Sergeant at Arms
Concert Band: John Phillip Sousa Award (2006)
Concert Band: Section Leader, 3 years</p>
<p>My S found that the online app for one of his schools didn't give him enough flexibility to describe his courses or indicate that some are AP courses (he had to choose from a drop-down menu). This is a school that makes preliminary decisions based on self-reported coursework and grades, so it's important that he be able to name his courses accurately.</p>
<p>This is a good time to contact the admissions office by phone or e-mail. He had several questions, so he called. So he accomplished two things: had a nice, cordial conversation with an admissions officer, and reassured himself that it really is okay to do the paper app. His biggest fear was his messy handwriting, but he worked that out. For all other schools, he's doing online and it's working just fine.</p>
<p>When they work, and of course when they're required or "recommended," online applications are the way to go--and someday they'll be the only option. But while some schools are working out the glitches, paper is okay.</p>
<p>But P.S.: Kids who don't have computers in their homes are at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Some schools also waive or reduce their application fees if you apply on line. That should tell you where their preferences lie.
[/quote]
That may mean it is easier and cheaper for them to process ... it does not necessarily mean that the on-line form provides the student the best opportunity to present themselves in the best light</p>
[quote]
What is the difference between the paper application and the online application?
If you complete an application online, the application fee is $20. If you'd rather download, print, complete, and submit the application forms, the application fee is $50. No matter how you choose to apply, there is no difference in how we read applications...carefully and one at a time.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>3togo, I agree that it's easier and cheaper for them. But if I'm asking to be looked at "in the best light", one of the things I consider is the way to make it easiest for my reviewer - a first impression type of thing.</p>
<p>Newmassdad wrote, "One big word of advice: DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST DAY, ESPECIALLY THE LAST HOUR. Servers get overloaded and crash. The same goes for FAFSA, by the way."</p>
<p>This allows me to slip in my favorite warning re: online apps. Last winter, and presumably this winter, there were some huge regional weather events in Northern cities that caused week-long power failures. This affected us very much in Buffalo (SAT's postponed due an "October Surprise" snowfall that darkened the region for a week). This was a small local event, but distorted the whole sequence of taking Fall SAT's and SAT-I's. Another blizzard-turned-to-power-failure happened all across the Midwest prarie states around Jan. 1. It could happen in your region, or in the region to which you are applying.</p>
<p>I'm sure that schools in those affected regions gave grace to late applications, once their computers reopened and they saw them.</p>
<p>But if you're issuing an application from an affected area, the late receipt could not be understood as well if you're applying to an unaffected area. </p>
<p>Last year, I encouraged everyone working at the last minute on their online apps to print out hard-copies to do their last few days of work, just in case their community was hit with a power failure.</p>
<p>So just add this to your list of reasons why not to wait til the final day to handle online anything. Or, if you're doing this on the last day or so, print out hard-copies to back yourself up as you work. This includes draft essays, draft FAFSA figures, and so on.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But if I'm asking to be looked at "in the best light", one of the things I consider is the way to make it easiest for my reviewer
[/quote]
Well, sometimes the key to getting in is getting noticed, and sometimes a student gets noticed by doing something different. </p>
<p>I don't think students should be different just for the point of being gimmicky, and I definitely don't think it would be helpful if the student opts for paper just to pile on added bulk -- but at the same time I do think that a lot can get lost with the online format, especially when a student feels constrained by the forms to abbreviate or eliminate important information. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, our experience was that the Common App online was the worst of all online options in terms of its limitations -- there were also online apps that my daughter loved. For example, she felt the Fordham online application was very user friendly and a breeze to fill out -- in fact, Fordham was a last-minute addition to her list, and I think that the ease of completing their online application was one reason she added the school. </p>
<p>I think it is important that the application process allow the student to present themselves in whatever they feel is their best light. For one thing, that is going to give the ad committee what they need to know. But more important, I think that the student should be able to feel good about what they submitted -- if they feel that they had to hold back in some way because of the format, then they are going to feel frustrated in the end if they are not accepted. </p>
<p>I realize that part of the sentiment being expressed here is that logically, chances should be better if you give them what they want in the way that they want it. I am not directly arguing with that point -- but my kids tend to be stand-outs and not rule-followers, they very often do things in a somewhat different way than others around them (its what happens when two trial lawyers marry & procreate -- you get a double dose of the "argumentative" gene). Those do-it-my-way habits are also characteristic of leadership and/or creativity, which of course is something that the most selective colleges say that they want. </p>
<p>The irony is that it is very hard to stand out in a setting where thousands of applicants are using an online format with limited space and drop-down options. There's no point in deviating if the format is not constraining -- you won't grab attention by typing out the same list that could have been selected from the pre-formatted options -- but if the student has something different to say, then I think they should say it in whatever mode is best suited for conveying the message.</p>
<p>Think of the online app as the editor doing your D a favor by forcing her to put down her very BEST ECs with the very BEST, but minimal description.</p>
<p>If there is something that truly needs to be said, add it with the rec letters for the app 'portfolio'.</p>