I remember hearing about the Common App from older students and dreading it. Now, however, after completing it, I have not only come to terms with the Common App, but believe it is organized in a manner that is fairly easy to understand.

When thinking about tackling the common app, it can trigger anxiety. The idea of writing an essay about yourself, completing countless forms for all of the schools you are applying to and choosing a path for your future can be difficult. The common app seems like it will be complicated and hard to understand, but once you begin, the anxiety and fear start to gradually melt away.

The first step in completing the common app is creating your profile. The profile includes personal information, address, contact details, demographics, geography, language, citizenship and a fee waiver. Within each of these topics there are a series of questions.

In addition to a profile, SENIORS applying for colleges through the common app must complete the sections: family, education, testing, activities and writing. Each section has subsections with additional questions similar to the profile. The activities section is similar to a resume but only allows you to report 10 of your most important activities.

The writing section is where you submit the common app essay. The student can choose one of many prompts. The last prompt is open ended and allows you to write about almost anything, giving the student complete freedom.

Writing this essay is, for many, the most difficult part of the common app. Choosing a topic to write about that is important to you and showcases your abilities is both incredibly important and difficult. When I was writing my essay, I struggled in deciding a topic, whether to be comedic or serious, editing my work to make it better and fit within the word limit.

In order to pass these obstacles I wrote about something important to me that allowed me, in a serious essay, to show my strengths but also showed my comedic side and my personality through the situation and my writing. It was also immensely beneficial to get help from the WHHS Writing Center, trusted teachers, parents, peers and other experienced professionals from the college information center and other schools.  

Certain aspects of applying to college are not included in the common app itself. There are questions through the common app system for each individual school the student chooses to apply for. Students must also request their transcripts through their schools and on Naviance, and send in ACT and SAT scores through the tests respective websites. Some schools don’t accept applications through common app and students must apply through the school’s website.

Overall the common app isn’t difficult or a waste of precious time. It is simple and well organized making applying to college much less stressful and more understandable. If I’m being completely honest, I enjoyed working on the common app because I knew that once I was finished I wouldn’t be stressed out anymore, and I could breathe a sigh of relief.