Last year around this time of the year, I was having the same thoughts and struggles that many high school seniors are experiencing currently. College applications. Such a word that creates such ripples of effects. But where do you begin?

Listen up. Grab a pen and piece of paper. And let me lead you through some advice on applying to college.

Common App vs. Coalition App

The two main ways that a senior could apply to colleges are the Common App and the Coalition App. While some colleges require separate applications on their school websites, the majority of university applications can be found on the two applications listed above.

The biggest difference between the two types of applications is that the Common App provides a wider reach for students. Many universities accept the Common App, making it more accessible and “common” (get it?) application service for students, but there is a limit to the number of colleges you may apply to—twenty. As the majority of students utilize the Common App, it is more widely recognized by high schools and counselors, which could bring more convenience and is recommended.

The Coalition App, does not have a limit to the number of colleges that may be applied to. However, some colleges do not utilize or accept this form of application. There are fewer than two hundred institutions that accept the Coalition App, in which the Common App is connected to more than three times this amount.

The Coalition App aims to help underrepresented students to apply to receive higher education, all while connecting them with more financial support. Due to this, the Coalition App can be seen as very detailed and asks for more information.

In this article, we will be reviewing the Common App.

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More about the Common App

Personally, I utilized the Common App in my college applications process last year. The application was very straightforward, in which the student would add which colleges they would like to apply to, and the due date for each application would appear right underneath the college’s name. Psst! Colleges have different due dates!

The application would then ask for a copy of your high school transcript, your extracurriculars, work experience, personal information, family information, test scores, honors and achievements, and your Common App essay.

In order to submit your applications for each respective school, you are expected to fill out all the information for the Common App section as well as each college’s specific application. But don’t worry, it will be fairly easy to navigate once you create your Common App account.

College Lists

There are many different ways students choose to create their college lists. It could be by location, rankings for their major, school spirit, in-state or out-of-state, and so on. Because there are many factors, it is important to pick which factor means the most to you.

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There were friends I knew who only applied to in-state colleges since they didn’t want to leave home. There was also the factor that in-state schools have less expensive tuition over private schools.

There were friends who chose to only apply to the top twenty schools for their major. Regardless of being far away from home, there were some who preferred to attend a school best for their future career.

That being said, the college you end up attending will be your home for the next few years, and possibly more if you end up applying for jobs in that area.

While you may feel that you have to solidify your college list now, you might do more research later and realize that one of the schools feels like you really would not belong. Then it is absolutely fine to remove or replace it with another school. Just keep note of your deadlines, and make sure you leave plenty of time to complete the application and supplemental essays.

Majors

Let’s be honest, there are so many stories out there of students who end up changing their major their junior year of college. That being said, your major may change in the future as well. It’s difficult to know exactly what we want in the future as teenagers.

If you have absolutely no idea where to start in choosing your major, I would recommend looking at your extracurricular activities. Check if there are common fields that all the activities lead to. And if there aren’t any, well, you could always go with undecided!

Letters of Recommendation

Most schools range from accepting zero to four recommendation letters (usually).

Letters of recommendations should be asked from teachers who you believe may have seen your potential, classes you’ve performed well in, classes you’ve participated many times in, or teachers that you may have worked with in a club. If a student is passionate about chemistry, they are likely to request a letter of recommendation from their chemistry teacher.

If you are currently a senior and have not requested a letter of recommendation from a teacher yet, I recommend getting on it immediately. Many students ask their respective teachers for a letter towards the end of their junior year, or as soon as senior year begins. This may not apply to all teachers, but some teachers do have a limit of letters they write in a single year, so it is crucial to ask quickly than wait.

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When you request for letters, you may either go in-person or write an email. If you choose to write an email, you could:

1) Introduce yourself. Who are you? When did you take their class? Which class did you take with them?

2) Write about what you enjoyed about their class, and why you would like to request a recommendation letter from them.

3) Write about the field you would like to pursue in the future / your possible major.

3) Include a brag sheet. A brag sheet is a list of activities, experience, personal traits, and experiences from that class a student had, in order for a teacher to reference the sheet and write an exceptional recommendation letter for them.

4) Include your contact information.

5) Close the email with gratitude and best wishes.

While you may ask yourself, why would a letter of recommendation be significant?

Letters of recommendation showcase how well you work in an environment of students, your cooperation in class, and personal qualities. These are points that could not be curated in academic test scores, grades, and essays, which is why colleges request for these materials.

Additionally, some colleges allow you to attach additional letters. These letters could be from a mentor, a coach, or an employer. Someone who has had experiences working or interacting with you, and knows some qualities you may want to make known to the universities. If you believe that these additional letters are similar to those that your school teachers may write about you, then it is best not to submit repetitive material.

Essays

For college applications, there is the Common App essay and supplemental essays.

The Common App essay is an essay that is 650 words, and follows one of the prompts given by the Common App. This essay will be included in almost every college application, except for the schools that may allow it as optional.

While some schools have no supplemental essays, many schools have a minimum of one to two. These questions can be theoretical, a “why us?” essay, major-related essays, and so forth. These supplemental essays are assigned in order to get a full view of this student’s thinking processes, writing skills, and life experiences that can not be seen in any other part of their application. From these essays, a university is looking to find a student who would fit well into their school’s academic and social environment.

For example, if you were applying to a school with a “why-us?” essay, you might want to research unique traits about the university that you would be able to find your place in. This could be a major that only that specific school has, a program that you are interested in joining, or the exceptional school spirit the school possesses.

It is important to look up examples and descriptions of what schools may be looking for in their essay responses once you decide on your college list. Of course, while using these as sources of help, do not reference previous essays for your own, as that takes away your own traits in your writing and may in fact, make it harder to brainstorm for your personal experiences.

Extracurriculars

Extracurricular activities are the activities, programs, and projects that students may have participated in outside of their academics and classes at school.

Many say that there are stronger ways to list your activities on the list. I would recommend to be as specific as possible, to 1) gain credibility in that you wouldn’t be exaggerating or lying on your application, 2) specificity shows how much of an impact you have created. For example, instead of writing: Captain of Varsity Soccer Team, you might write: Captain (12), Varsity Soccer Team; Assistant Captain (10), Junior Varsity Soccer Team. It is important to be specific in the descriptions.

As well as the specificity, personally, I know many students order their extracurriculars from the one they are the most passionate about, or have created the biggest impact on, and then so forth. It is not crucial how many activities you had, but the quality of how each activity impacted your community and/or yourself, and how you utilized that period of time.

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Extracurriculars are an important means to see how well the student is at time management, working with others, and shows how passionate you are about different fields. If a student was interested in writing, they may have been the Editor-In-Chief of the school newspaper, or for chemistry, the student may have been a part of the Science Olympiad at their school.

In summary, extracurriculars are a crucial aspect of your application that you want to make sure knows how to make you shine. Make use of the maximum word count. Write in numbers for specificity. Write your responsibilities and leadership roles from your activity.

Summary

Senior year is a mix of emotions. It is definitely difficult during college application season, while balancing applications, high school classes, and extracurriculars. And sometimes, decision season won’t be what you expected either. It’s a fight of mental health, fighting failure, learning about yourself, and self growth.

While writing my college essays and filling out my application, I was able to reminisce memories of mine, and truly got to know myself further throughout the entire journey.

Whether you get accepted or rejected to your dream school, there are always pathways you can take to build your path back towards the track you wanted. No, your college does not define you, but in the whirlwind of the moment, it absolutely may feel like it does. Try your best on your applications in order not to leave any regrets—but remember, your application is hard to be perfect. After submitting it, you may look back at your essays and say, “maybe I should’ve written that differently.”

But before that, you know that you have put in your best into the application that was submitted. Be proud of your hard work.

Good luck, seniors.