Personal essay and supplement

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>Under the personal essay for Common Application, it says:</p>

<p>Note: Your Common Application essay should be the same for all colleges. Do not customize it in any way for individual colleges. Colleges that want customized essay responses will ask for them on a supplement form.</p>

<p>Has anyone ever tried to customize their personal essay? Meaning, you submit a different topic for each University that you're applying to? How would they know? Since your submission is individual? </p>

<p>I'm asking this cause I'm applying to Stony Brook University, and for the personal essay, I'm thinking of writing a topic of my choice: Find x (a supplement question from the University of Chicago). Would it be a good idea to choose an essay question from another University? Cause I've a great idea to write about the topic Find x. So I'm also thinking of applying to the University of Chicago, but I can't write the same essay question for the personal essay and their supplement (I've no idea how to go about answering the other supplement questions). </p>

<p>Anyway, my SAT is 1460 out of 2400 but I've a high GPA. With a good essay, would the University of Chicago even accept me? </p>

<p>Is it a bad idea to use another University's supplement question as a topic of my choice? </p>

<p>Thank you and Merry Christmas :)</p>

2

<p>1460 out of 2400 gives you a very very slim chance at acceptance regardless of GPA or strength of essays, unless you mean that is your CR + M score. 1460 is below average! If you can somehow raise it 600-700 points, you stand a much better shot.</p>

3

<p>Yeah, my SAT score ruins my competitiveness. </p>

<p>So is it a bad idea to use another University’s supplement question as a topic of my choice in the Common Application?</p>