I am currently a junior, and the title says it all. How soon do next year’s essays and applications come out and what essay preparation can I take in the meantime?
It depends on the college, but usually in early summer. Common App essay prompts will be the same for next year as they were for this year, so you can already get started on those. Depending on the college, applications are typically accepted after August 1 (and the Common App too on 8/1) or September 1. Check each colleges web page for specifics, though. Good for you for planning an early start!
Edited: Common App general prompts will be the same. Individual colleges’ separate essays might still change
@Groundwork2022 Wait, so CommonApp essays stay the same while supplemental essays from each school are the ones that change? So, does that mean that I could create a CommonApp account right now and start?
Yes. You can. Everything you type in you will be able to transfer over to next year’s common app. Some colleges have additional questions or some version of “why us?”.
You can create a Common App account now, but you would need to rollover on 8/1. Most, but not all, of the info should transfer over.
The Common App essays have not changed for several cycles, but that does not mean they will not change in the future. They will, however, be the same for the 2019-2020 cycle:
https://www.commonapp.org/whats-appening/application-updates/2019-2020-common-app-essay-prompts
For individual schools, sometimes the supplements change, sometimes they don’t. It really depends.