Towards the end of the Common App, there was an option to include a statement about any circumstances or qualifications that a student felt was not reflected in the application already. I chose not to fill this out as I felt I had accurately and positively presented myself throughout my application already.
Is every student expected to fill out this optional statement, and am I at a disadvantage for not doing so? Any help you could provide would be great. Thanks!
No – It’s fine to leave it empty.
My D was given the advice that if you are given space to say something, don’t waste it. Most kids leave it blank if they don’t have circumstances that haven’t been dealt with yet. My D used it as a space to sell herself as a student and more importantly, to sell herself as an alumni of the particular school she was applying to. Keep in mind that you are only allowed 3 drafts of your common app so if you change the wording in that space to accommodate a particular school, you can ONLY do that 3 times! The 3rd time will need to be generic so it can apply to the rest of the schools you are applying to. hope that helps!
@stephrass thank you! So even if you’ve already submitted the Common App, you can add that statement (only up to 3 times)?
If you’ve already submitted it then you can’t change it for that school. But you can use the space for the next one you submit and that would be considered draft 2. So then you can change it just once more after that so make sure that last one is generic and can apply to the rest of the school’s you’re submitting to.