<p>Does each school accept EXACTLY the same common application. Or is there a specific addendum for each school.</p>
<p>e.g. Do you have to answer a "why do I want to attend abc university" for each school that you apply to using the common application?</p>
<p>If yes, then it seems to me its a lot of work to apply to a lot of schools. I don't understand why people say it is easier to apply to a lot of schools because so many of them accept the common application. You still have to personalize the application for the school(s) to which you are applying.</p>
<p>Some schools require a supplement- others do not. Many times the supplement is a simple single piece of paper, or a single essay. Look at <a href="http://www.commonapp.org%5B/url%5D">www.commonapp.org</a> tocheck it out, and to see what schools participate and if they require a supplement.</p>
<p>No, you really don't have to personalize your application.</p>
<p>The common app requires one short answer about a favorite activtity
(2006) and a longer essay with several prompts from which you can choose, along with a "topic of your choice."
Then, most colleges require a supplement, and some of those supplements require an extra essay. The supplemental extra essay is usually fairly broad - although sometimes it is specific enough that you might only be able to use it for that school.
My kids both only wrote three essays and were able to mix and match them to fit 7 common apps for my daughter and 5 common apps for my son. It really does save a lot of time, especially if you submit the online form, which you can save and send to various schools.
If you're a kid that doesn't really enjoy filling out forms, the online common app is very helpful. You only have to fill in the little boxes once!</p>
<p>My daughter was accepted at all of her common app schools a few years ago, and my son was accepted into his first choice, and then withdrew his others.
An example of how this might work:</p>
<p>School A's supplement has one essay question, such as "How did a teacher influence your life."<br>
School B's supplement asks you to "Explain a significant event in your life"
For school A, you answer their teacher question, and then use school B's supplemental essay for your "topic of choice' for school A.
For school B, you answer their event question, and then use the teacher question for school B as a topic of choice.
It doesn't always work out perfectly - hence, the third essay, but you'd be surprised how well it does work out.
If you apply to a lot of scholarships,howver, prepare to write a lot of essays. They are often quite individualized to fit the school/program you're applying for.</p>
<p>Both of my kids spent a lot of time perfecting their essays, and they were very effective in showing their personalities. I think only doing three made that possible.</p>
<p>hellousdad, this question and the types of questions you are asking are easily answered on each college's website...and the answers are more reliable. I recommend that you check there.</p>
<p>LooseCannon, It still might be a lot of work to apply to (let's say) 12 schools, but surely you can see how much easier it is to fill out one app, and push one button and send it to 12 schools, even if you do have to fill out an addendum for each school. The addendum might be one or two essays specific to that school but you save yourself from duplicating all the other crap.</p>