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Back in 1975, administrators from fifteen colleges got together and decided to create one application that students could use to apply to any or all of their colleges. This was the birth of “The Common App” which is now accepted by more than 700 colleges and universities across the United States. More than one million students are expected to use this year’s Common App – which went live with its latest updates on August 1 – to apply to more than four million colleges and universities.
The Common App is an online application that asks a series of questions in several categories, including: parents’ educational history and current employment, students’ SAT/ACT/AP test scores, senior year courses, high school activities, and intended college major. There is also an essay of 250 to 650 words that is required by the majority of Common App colleges. Students, this year, have a choice of seven essay topics. One of the long time favorites states, “Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.” A new essay topic for the 2017-18 Common Application says, “Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.” So the topic options are truly limitless.
On the “dashboard” of the Common App, students list all of the colleges to which they want to apply. Most colleges have some additional questions, and some even have supplemental essays (although they are usually only looking for 100 to 250 words). Once all of the questions are answered and essays are completed, students pay the application fee for each college online, and press “submit.” Then the waiting game begins.
The good news for New Jersey students who want to attend college in state is that all Garden State colleges and universities, with four exceptions, accept the Common App. The exceptions are: Rutgers, Montclair State, and Thomas Edison State universities and Berkeley College. But that leaves 22 schools in New Jersey alone that can be applied to with just one application.
Susan Alaimo is the founder and director of SAT Smart in Hillsborough that has been offering PSAT, SAT, and ACT preparation courses, as well as private tutoring by IVY-League educated instructors, for more than 20 years. Visit www.SATsmart.com
