<p>So if you do one you can send it to any of the colleges that accept it? So do you make copies of it or do you have to make multiple copies by hand? And the same essay can be attatched to the app for each school so only one essay is required? And how do you know if the college wants you to use their own essay topic, not the ones on the common app? Does it cost anything to send them in if you're low-income? Do you get a fee waiver from your counselor and attatch the waiver to the app or what? And will colleges look down upon someone using the common app and not their own? Sorry for the rambling of questions.</p>
<p>Well I think I can give you an answer to the essay question. I did the common app for almost all of my schools, and each had a common app supplement. The supplement often requires you to write another essay so be sure to double check. I typed everything in the common app online and then printed out a bunch of copies, which made things easier. The only thing I hated about the common app was that sometimes the app for the individual college required less essays and work than the common app.</p>
<p>go to this site and scroll down to the article on advice on filling out the common app, answers to some of your questions:
<a href="http://www.admissionsadvice.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.admissionsadvice.com/</a></p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>So you can complete an application online and send via the internet?</p>
<p>Yes. Many colleges even prefer to receive apps online.</p>
<p>if they all accept the common app, then you can use the same common app essay for all of them if you want. you can do it all online, print out multiple copies and mail them, print out one copy and photocopy it, write it all by hand, whatever you choose. as for the fee waiver, you can just ask your guidance counselor to write a note- that's what mine did. and no, colleges will not look down on you if you use the common app instead of their own. they offer common app for a reason :)</p>
<p>About Fee waivers:</p>
<p>When you say that all they have to do is write a note, does that mean that they just say "It would be a financial hardship for this family to submit the requested application fee."? Or do they have to explain why? I'm not sure my counselor has ever made one. My school doesn't have many ambitious applicants; they usually don't apply anywhere that would cost more than $30 to apply. So is it like half a sheet of paper stapled to the front with her signature? Or a hand written note? Or a formal thing on school paper with official language and a stamp of their intergrity? </p>
<p>Sorry for all the questions...</p>