4 submitted. Working on 2 more. Then he can focus on his ED which includes 2 supplementary essays (400-600 words), 4 short answer questions (100-200 words), and a power point presentation. Sheesh!
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Are your kids using the Additional Information section on the Common App? Iâve gotten mixed advice. Should they use this to expand on their ECs?
I think it should be used carefully. Not so much for explanations and to say something not already included.
My D used to say she was pursuing an optional honors thesis with a short description, and to briefly describe the nature of the independent work she was in the process of completing, neither of which would make an appearance until her final transcript for the year.
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I wouldnât use it to expand on ECs. We used it to explain a cross country move during Covid and an out of order class progression because of a scheduling issue.
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Agree with others that I would not cover topics that have already been discussed elsewhere in the app. D22 used Additional Info to mention things that make her who she is, but didnât fit as Activities - e.g. she is very passionate about her enormous collection of specialty markers, and she really enjoys making crossword puzzles. It may not have made a big difference, but her results were very good.
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We are only looking at it because of a family issue that affected some things. We are not supplementing activity descriptions.
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My sonâs college counselor recommended that he use this section to link a website he created about the research project he did for a foundation.
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S24 submitted 8 so far, like a marathon, he is doing the essays at a steady pace. We were both hope that he can be done with the rest by the end of October so from that point on, all we do is to wait.
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D24 is the opposite - Common App essay done (thank you AP ENG teacher!!) but no movement on music supplement. She isnât applying to major or minor in music, but her composition and music performance are a big part of her app, so she is going to submit a supplement.
I think we have found that as a supplemental essay, most of her apps request a âhow are you part of a communityâ essay, so I am encouraging her to work on that so that it can be used for multiple applications.
Like @shawk, we are doing a fall break trip to 3 reaches on the East Coast to finalize a decision on whether or not to ED (her first choice school is currently not an East Coast school, but she is still not sure about whether she wants to ED or not - so as long as she isnât sure, it will be a no). She is in at her 2 in-state safeties, but needs to apply to honors colleges.
S24 is a recruited athlete at an Ivy, has to have app in by Oct 1 (!!) . I believe this is yet another pre-read, and he will officially submit his SCEA app Nov 1. So we had to lay down the law and get him to work on his app this weekend. He just needs to edit common app essay, write one more school specific essay, and fine tune everything else.
Very impressed with all of the kids with apps in!
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It feels like weâre in two steps forward/one step back land over here.
C24 hasnât finished first drafts of any of their essays, either for the Common App or supplementals. But they have finalized their school list, sent their teachers the recommendation forms, and are trying to track down their counselor for the counselor recs (I whined about that here earlier this week). They have their audition materials nearly ready; they just need actually to tape the videos for schools who want them, and schedule interviews and/or auditions.
But theyâre struggling with their activities section â I just reviewed it today and they didnât mention their most significant extracurricular activity â the 11 plays and musicals theyâve been in in HS! Their rationale is that some schools require a resume, and all of the productions are on that and they donât want to be redundant. I get that they donât need to list each role/show separately, but they should at least mention the 10-20 hours a week theyâve spent on Theater each fall and spring as one of their activities.
They also didnât mention the four separate summer theater/arts programs they attended because they think those âwonât make a difference.â One of them is the Cherubs program at Northwestern, even though theyâre applying there! So we have some work to do.
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D24 hasnât made half the progress that some of you have. She is still finalizing her list of schools to apply to, but has it down to about 8 which is what I was hoping for. We havenât been able to visit (none are close), so she is leaning toward not applying ED anywhere, but EA where available. We are doing a ton of virtual sessions so there is always a chance something will click with her, because she would truly love to be done with the whole process early.
She has a few essay drafts, but thus far hasnât felt really inspired to make any of them a standout. The schoolâs college counselor requires the draft turned in at the end of the month and she does her best work under pressure, so that will solve itself soon.
LORs have been requested from two excellent teachers, one of whom is also her faculty advisor and I know both letters will be 10+/10.
I havenât even seen her Common App to see what sheâs listed. I suspect I wonât ⊠I didnât look at either brotherâs.
Every time I start to get too stressed I think of her brothers and feel better. S19 didnât start applying until November, slapped his app together and got into 7/8 schools and waitlisted at one. He was an average excellent student who blossomed into a superstar in college. S21 was applying amidst covid, so no visits whatsoever, applied ED to one, got in, and was done.
Iâve decided not to worry, help setting up virtual stuff if she wants, and weâll plan visits after sheâs got her acceptances.
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M D23 did, my D21 did not. D23 used it for a brief summary of her main EC (18-20 hrs a week) which encompasses 10 years of professional performance art experience. There was no way to convey the professional experience component accurately in the common app otherwise. Counselor encouraged using that section and helped keep it brief. D21 did not have an âoutlier â EC like that, so it was unused.
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I think weâre on track here. She has a list of 8 colleges. She has her Common App started and has the activities written and ready to be put in. She has a draft of an essay that she says is just okay. But itâs just a draft so hopefully it comes together soon.
She got her first application in today. Did it on the schoolâs site and it was pretty easy. She intends to do the 3 in-state in early October when the fees are waived for residents. Then the remaining 4 will happen over the rest of October and into November. Two have a couple extra questions, so will be later, but Iâm good with that.
We are working on a plan for visiting U of Tulsa and UA-Huntsville in the next few weeks. That leaves 2 with no visits at all and we will do those in the spring.
Overall, Iâm happy with where sheâs at right now.
Hopefully she gets a counselor soon. I hate to think of that holding up applications for these kids.
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Hi, I hope you donât mind me thread-bombing from the HS Class of 2019, but in case it is helpful, my son arrived in Glasgow about two weeks ago to begin a masterâs program, and I thought Iâd share his experience so far. I also spent a couple of days in the city while he was moving in. We visited St. Andrews when he was looking at undergraduate schools, but he decided not to apply this time. He attended a small LAC in Ohio for undergrad and decided he was ready for a bigger city for graduate school. St. Andrews and Glasgow, and their locations, are quite different. St. Andrews is a picture-perfect small town with a lot of history, and Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland, although still not gigantic. (St. Andrews had a very good info session and tour when we visited - if you canât go in person, maybe they do it on line as well. Itâs a very particular kind of place, with a lot of student traditions that may appeal, or not.) What he liked about Glasgow when he first visited was the friendly welcome he received everywhere he went, both at the university and around town. This was my experience as well. People were universally kind and helpful and eager to talk about their city. This has carried into his interactions with the university. The professors heâs met so far have been proactive in offering their help and advice as he settles into the UK system, the running club has been welcoming, etc., etc. He is also very taken with the food - there are an amazing number of excellent restaurants in Glasgow, including many ethnic restaurants. We had been living in Japan before moving to France last spring, and I was surprised to find that the Japanese restaurants in Glasgow were much better than what we have found so far in France. Glasgow is quite a diverse city and has six universities, so maybe that explains it, but it will make for a fun year for him. We were also surprised to realize that we could reach some wonderful places in less than half an hour outside the city, including Loch Lomond and Stirling. Of course, these are just first impressions based on a couple of weeks of living there, but I thought Iâd pass them along, as Glasgow has proved to be quite different from the âgrittyâ place I had expected.
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Thank you! We visited Glasgow way back when my S24 was just a baby (time flies) and I thought it was a great city (we actually loved Scotland in general). I think his concern is really just about the size of the university, and I also think those St Andrews traditions actually really appeal to him.
If you donât mind me asking, do you think the campus in Glasgow feels more set apart from the city, or more integrated into it?
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University of Glasgow feels more set apart from the city than St. Andrews (or Edinburgh for that matter). There is a terrific college town surrounding the campus, with lots of shops and restaurants, as well as some nice small hotels, and the Kelvingrove Museum and the botanic garden both abut the campus, but the campus itself has a unified feel. That was a plus for my son. The old campus is really beautiful.
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Hereâs a question for the wisdom of the list. My spouse and I are both English professors, and we love our daughterâs essay (itâs the one about overcoming an obstacle). It tells a compelling story, that illustrates some of her character qualitiesâbut it neither offers âcredentialsâ for college, nor does it âdraw a moral of the storyâ (i.e. explicitly state, this is how I changed in ways that make me admirable). Is this going to make her essay less attractive on some kind of admissions grading rubric?
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My answer is an emphatic no, that is fine, great even. AOs always say they want to learn something about the person that isnât obvious from the rest of the application, and that showing is better than telling. So a well-written essay that shows something interesting about the applicant can be great, it doesnât have to tell it too.
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Iâm starting to feel that D24 is behind on apps even though her common app essay and activities list are complete. She has a long list of schools ( I wish it was much smaller), and isnât sure if she will ED or not yet. We will visit 3 more schools at the end of the month to gain clarity on the ED decision. As an âaverage excellentâ student I wish she had more match schools - has a few safeties and then mostly reaches.
Itâs exciting seeing the acceptances rolling in for some of your kids! Canât wait to hear where they all end up!
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My D24 has not begun either of those thingsâŠfear not, as behind as you think your D is, I can assure you, there are plenty further behind than she is 
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