Simplify College Process Through Common App
Although college prep is becoming ingrained in the minds of kids earlier and earlier, there is no way to prepare for the actual application process. Almost every senior can relate when I say that I never imagined how difficult applying to college would be, on top of AP’s, IB’s and extra-curriculars. During freshman year we all laughed at the thought of involuntary all–nighters–then senior year rolled around and we’ve have been forced to make some tough decisions. Do I complete the busy-work that is worth fifty points? Or should I spend the night editing my personal statement and writing supplements? Between writing essays and editing the Common App, I barely have time to eat, and that’s my favorite activity, so imagine my hysteria when I found out that one of the schools I am applying to is not a member of the Common App.
Freshman who are not familiar with the Common App yet are lucky. The Common App is formally known as the Common Application for Undergraduate Admission. It has 391 members, meaning that 391 colleges around the United States will allow students to submit their application online via commonapp.org. In this application, the applicant only has to fill out the annoying information once, instead of writing out their senior year schedule for ten different colleges. They also only have to write two essays and the colleges can individually choose to request supplemental ones. Because students only have to push a button to submit our applications, we are able to have a slightly saner senior year.
Colleges that don’t use the Common App are making a bad decision. They don’t realize how much extra effort is required to apply to their college. If that college isn’t someone’s first choice, there is little incentive to actually take the initiative to fill out their application. Why would someone want to fill out the same information twice, when they could do it once? The time someone would spend filling out the Common App a second time could easily be used for something more important, like homework or sleep. While people applied to college before the Common App, the competition to get into college has greatly increased. For many students today, there is tremendous pressure to get into colleges, creating a generation of spread–thin, stressed–out and narcoleptic students.
Colleges like Georgetown University and MIT choose to use their own application for several reasons, but in general they believe the Common App to be lacking information. Colleges do want to give an honest look at applications to figure out who the student is, but is it really necessary for them to shun the Common App? If colleges truly want to make sure certain questions are answered, then they can put that into their supplement section. There, colleges can request any additional information that they want including essays and school report supplements. The college can still ensure that they get a full sense of what a student is like by using the Common App’s supplemental section while being a bit kinder during this already demanding process.
No matter what colleges do, the application process will always be stressful. It is a function of the system. Because changing the entire college infrastructure would be impossible to accomplish before applications are due, the only option students have is to go with the system. And the only way to do this is to have fun, despite the odds.
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