Is there a difference in what I choose? Does it matter?
Which ones are you guys choosing to do if you had the choice?
<p>help me out people, I'm not trying to be meticulous and annoying, I wanna know cuz it might help me relieve the stress a lil knowing which one is easier and more convenient to fill out.</p>
<p>Michelle Hernandez (I do hope I haven't butchered her last name), who's written college application books, suggests handwritten apps because they make you seem more human. She also suggests using blue ink (unless they specificially state black) to make your application stand out more.</p>
<p>I think online is the way to go. I'm applying to U Michigan, and when I read the instructions, there were all these statements like, "Online applications are easy! It's easy to correct your mistakes! No White-Out needed! We recieve it instantly! It doesn't get lost in the mail!" So unless you don't have a computer or something, I'd apply online. It seems to me, though I am not an adcom, that paper applications slow them down (else why would they mention White-Out. . . unless they've seen too many apps with White-Out?).</p>
<p>lol tru dat. Any1 else for Hernandez?</p>
<p>I recommend applying online. It's easy to use, secure, and it will get there with a confirmation online. Not to mention you can edit and update easily and correct mistakes. However, if you're on a dial-up connection, it can be a pain in the butt (trust me, I did this. I would have to break the application into parts or else I would have to sit on the computer for hours just waiting for it to get started...I love broadband). However, dial-up still doesn't lose out to writing it out by hand <shiver>.</shiver></p>
<p>And some colleges actually prefer it and give you a break on their application fee (free or discounted).</p>
<p>Just be careful about copying and pasting from Microsoft Word for short answers and what not. Some of the marks don't go over too well with the program the university uses and you get strange marks like "%" or "#" or "@" when a parentheses or apostrophe is supposed to be there. Just make sure you preview it to double check that everything is where it is supposed to be and you'll be fine.</p>
<p>nice, it looks as if Hernandez is losing</p>
<p>im applying online for sure, its just so much easier and time saving</p>
<p>Yes, most definitely online. It's easier for the college and the student.</p>
<p>I say hard becuse, well its easier for me. I asked the college I'm applying to (really small only 1,000) the dean of admissions said it did not matter.</p>
<p>It doesn't affect your decision, but online is usually preferred by colleges because it's easier to organize and handle and read. A lot of school scan all their written apps anyway, so it just helps to send it online (faster and no postage!)</p>
<p>And most of the time, when're you're done with the online app, the university allows you to print a hard copy for your records.</p>
<p>I think Michelle Hernendez wrote Acing the College Application before an online application was so common and familiar to adcoms, so I would go with online because colleges seem to be pushing them</p>
<p>The only disadvantage to online is the way that the supplements are attached. I you apply online, they print the application at the college end. Then you mail your supplements such as activity sheets, resumes, and essays separately. They then assemble everything at their end. If you apply thru the mail, you put the application and the supplements together yourself.</p>
<p>Every college does say that they prefer that people apply online. This is probably because they have to enter less into the computer via keyboarding. I don't possibly see where adcoms would care one way or the other.</p>
<p>Hernandez's books are "Acing the College Application" that came out this year, and the outdated "A is for Admissions" that came out in 1997 about her experiences at Dartmouth in the early 1990's.</p>
<p>Stanford really encourages online application for instance.</p>
<p>It's easy and fast, and you get less hand cramps.</p>
<p>(But they still haven't posted it online yet...grrr.)</p>
<p>yeah, any1 tried UVa yet? Can't seem to get that to work either.</p>
<p>dufus3709: Online applications often allow you to attach Microsoft Word documents, images, and PDF files at the end. Stanford's Online App allows you to attach your essay, if you prefer to, and to attach any other works via the internet. However, some online apps, like University of California, does not ask for additional resumes, etc. and hence you can't attach any.</p>
<p>By the way, Stanford's Online App goes up mid- to late August.</p>
<p>Many</a> on-line applications are free. (By the way, if anyone has other schools for me to add to my list, please let me know!) For schools with high fees, you might want to consider using on-line applications if cost is a concern. I don't really have a choice but to use them for some of my schools.</p>
<p>With some on-line applications, people find that they get cut off too early, especially with essays and short answer responses. Although eiffelguy87 is right in saying that some schools allow attachments, I think they're definitely the exception, not the rule. Most I've seen don't allow them at all.</p>
<p>I will likely go on-line all the way, if for no reason other than cost. Also, I have a neurological/muscular disorder that makes my handwriting really messy, so it's probably the best decision for me, anyway.</p>
<p>nice list,
yeah, huge reason why I do online, handwriting.
Don't got any disorders, but my handwriting is... wow... you have to see it to experience it. =P</p>
<p>Sadly, that list has become my hobby as of late...I need a life...school year, start up sooner!</p>
<p>I really think that's why so many schools prefer on-line applications, or at the very least typed ones. Few people have nice handwriting, so it must make things a lot easier for them. I'd hate to have to decipher unusual names or anything like that.</p>
<p>If you're a procastinator like me you wouldn't have to worry about making it to the post office in time with an online app. :)</p>