<p>Are we supposed to be filling out the common apps already? Am I supposed to start writing my essays now?? I am kinda confused as I thought it was only recommended to start in the summer but is the norm to start now??? ahhhh help please!</p>
<p>
Definitely</p>
<p>I advise you to start now, especially if you’re taking on a rigorous senior courseload and you’re applying early to places. It’s so easy to get caught up in school at the beginning of the year that you lose track of your apps and essays, which you need to devote a lot of time to.</p>
<p>but the thing is I havent even finished visiting like my list of like 15-20 schools yet… i plan on visiting all of them before September but i dont see why we have to start so early? filling out all the formalities seems easy but tedious so is it just writing the short essays? how long should it take me to write one essay and how many times should i have it proofread??</p>
<p>sorry about all these questions, I am the oldest child in the family and my parents didnt go to school here so I am just really confused about the whole application process…</p>
<p>I was the first in my family to apply too. It is overwhelming but because of the high school I go to and the guidance there it wasn’t that overwhelming.</p>
<p>The actual filling of the CommonApp won’t take that long, just full of formalities. The only thing you need to really care about are the COMMON APP ESSAY (1 essay), and the SHORT ANSWER (very short essay). </p>
<p>Depending on which colleges you apply to, some may require additional essays. This may be ONE big long essay, or a few short essays. For me, I just wrote one long essay for the additional essays, and just recycled it for my schools. The short essays I just wrote in early December because they were really easy.</p>
<p>So basically your main task is the CommonApp essay and maybe ONE or TWO supplemental essays (which you can recycle).</p>
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Isn’t it summer now?</p>
<p>-15 to 20 schools is too many. Hopefully after your visits your are planning to cut your list to 10 or fewer.
-“How long” it should take you depends on you - do you have a great idea for an essay, or are you still trying to come up with a topic? Does essay-writing come easily to you?
-Some schools have very specific prompts for their essays, some do not. If you apply to 20 schools you may have to write several different essays (some long, some short) and there are often supplemental essays for schools on the common application.
-Some schools have early application dates to qualify for merit scholarships - the dates start around the end of October and there are lots in November. It is best to be prepared in advance.
-Proofreading. Only have your essay proofread by a few people that you know are skilled writers. Don’t hand it to anyone and everyone (or post it on College Confidential) or you will end up making a million tiny changes that just may destroy the original flow and theme.
-Getting your essay done early allows you to include it in your packet that you give to the people you ask to recommend you. That way they may touch on an important theme in your essay in their recommendation. The result could be a wonderful cohesiveness of your application that helps the admissions rep reading your application see you as an individual.</p>
<p>Or you could wait until the day the application is due. Totally up to you!</p>
<p>about my college list and visiting schools…</p>
<p>so my dean gave me a huge list of schools (about 20) and I have already visited only about 3 or 4 of them but does that mean I have to visit all my schools?? for example i feel like I dont have to visit some safeties that look bad to me because I am kinda positive that I wont have to resort to going there? and even though i havent visited all of them yet, should I just still proceed in filling out the common app since it doesnt really matter what my end list is since almost all of my schools participate in the common app??</p>