<p>I'm really confused with the whole common app thing.....I get that this application form is valid for most colleges? Can anyone tell me more about this specifically? I'm and international student if that helps!</p>
<p>There are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the US. The Common Application has 456 schools (some are not US). If you go to their website, you can view Member Colleges & Universities.</p>
<p>If you apply to college using the Common Application, it potentially means less forms to fill out. You fill out a “common application” once, which can be sent to any of the 456 schools, and then most schools have a supplement with school-specific information to also submit.</p>
<p>At this time, you can only use the Common Application to apply to up to 20 schools. That’s more than enough college applications for most people. Of the 456 Common App schools, currently 148 of them ONLY allow application through that method. Which means for 308 of the schools, you can also apply using a different method.</p>
<p>Each school decides if there is an application fee, and if so, how much. In addition, you will need to have your test scores sent (ACT and/or SAT) to each school you apply to, and there is a fee for that. </p>
<p>If you are applying for financial assistance or the school requires it for scholarships, you may need to fill out a financial form called the CSS, and there’s a fee for that as well.</p>
<p>There are many colleges and universities that do not require as much information to apply as the Common Application schools. For example, many schools do not require an essay or a listing of your extra curricular activities as part of the application. Instead, all they need is your test scores and high school transcript, plus information like name, address, phone, intended course of study, etc.</p>
<p>I recommend you take some time to go to the Common Application and website and read Common Questions.</p>