The 2010-2011 Common Application: Updates and Tips

Post By: COYD Staff

This past weekend the Common Application posted a preview of this year’s Common Application which will become live online on August 1, 2010. To preview the new 2010-2011 Common Application, click Here.

This year there are a few changes and additions to the Common App:

1. Columbia University finally decided to join the Common App. They will be the last of the Ivies to join.

2. This is the first year in Common Application history that includes international universities. They are Jacobs University Bremen and The American University of Rome.

3. Essay questions will be the same as the previous year.

SHORT ANSWER
Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below or on an attached sheet. (150 words or fewer)

PERSONAL ESSAY
This personal essay helps us become acquainted with you as a person and student, apart from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It will also demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself. Choose one of the following topics. (250 words minimum)

1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national or international concern and its importance to you.

3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.

4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.

5. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated their importance of diversity to you.

6. Topic of Choice

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If there is any additional information you’d like to provide regarding special circumstances, additional qualifications, etc., please do so in the space below of on an attached sheet. (No word count provided)

4. 27 New College and Universities have joined the Common Application (* indicates a public institution):

Alaska Pacific University (AK)
Albany College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences (NY)
The American University of Rome (Italy)
Columbia University (NY)
Concordia University (OR)
DePaul University (IL)
Florida Institute of Technology (FL)
Fontbonne University (MO)
Gannon University (PA)
Husson University (ME)
Jacobs University Bremen (Germany)
Johnson State College* (VT)
Maritime College (SUNY)* (NY)
Mount Saint Mary College (NY)
Otterbein College (OH)
St. John’s College (MD/NM)
School of the Art Institute of Chicago (IL)
(SUNY) Morrisville State College* (NY)
(SUNY) Potsdam* (NY)
Stephens College (MO)
University of Connecticut* (CT)
University of Maryland Baltimore County* (MD)
University of Michigan* (MI)
University of North Carolina Asheville* (NC)
Western New England College (MA)
Westmont College (CA)
Xavier University of Louisiana (LA)

5. Tip: Don’t leave blank spaces on the Common App and be sure to add additional material like a resume, supplemental information, and/or addendums.

The purpose of the Common App and/or other common applications like The Universal Application is to reduce the amount of stress and time when applying to colleges. However, on the flip side, it could cause you as a student to apply to more colleges without really knowing which college would be a good match for you. In addition, the criticism around the Common App is that it doesn’t give a student the full capacity to show themselves at their very best. This is only true if a student is not willing to put the time and effort to creating an amazing application. Since you are saving so much time by using the Common App, reinvest the time you saved by using the Common App by creating a spectacular Common App. The application is just a basic structure. It is your job to make it your own and to make yourself shine within the application.