What can I fill out NOW?

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>I know the Common App isn't out until August 1st, but is there anything I can fill out throughout the summer to save time? Or does it ALL change every year and I can't start yet?</p>

2

<p>Any information entered into your application prior to shutdown on July 13 will be deleted when the 2012-13 application launches on August 1. If you would like to get a head start, consider working on your essay, short answer, or activities descriptions, all of which can be drafted offline.</p>

3

<p>Getting an early start on your apps is smart. Here are some things you can do while you are waiting for August 1, when the Common App goes live:

  1. Write the main essay. Topic of your choice, target 500 words.
  2. Write the Extracurricular Activity essay. Target 150 words. Topic can be anything you do outside of classes: an organized activity (baseball team, debate club), a hobby (knitting, collecting & re-selling baseball cards), or any other passion (trombone, a charitable endeavor). The length of this one is actually physically limited by the character count the Common App will allow (1000 characters, including spaces).
  3. Start compiling the list of activities you want to include on the Common App. I believe that this year you can include up to 10 activities. You can add a resume in another part of the application if you want, but they admissions committees will be looking at this list. The information needed for each activity is grades participated, hours per week, weeks per year, and whether this was a summer or school year activity. This info can take a while to figure out and compile, so I suggest starting early. Making a chart can be helpful, and then you will just have to transfer that info to the Common App.
  4. Fill out a paper version of the Common App for yourself as a draft. The application asks for all kinds of details (specifics about parents’ education, your test scores, courses, etc). You can’t create an online account until August 1, but filling out a paper copy allows you to have all that information at your fingertips at that time. You can print out a paper copy here: <a href=“https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/...tedPreview.pdf[/url]”>https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/...tedPreview.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
  5. Once the steps above are all done, many students choose to start on the supplementary essays for the schools themselves. There are schools that change their essays each year, and schools that have had the same essay questions for years. A good counsellor, if you are lucky enough to have one, generally knows which ones are which, but of course, there’s always a small chance that a school that has asked the same question for years will suddenly decide to change.</p>

<p>Good luck, and good for you for starting out early on this process - you will be happy that you did!</p>