After spending the last couple of days digging through the 2021-2021 Common App ®, I thought I’d share some initial reactions!
MOST SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES TO THE 2020-2021 APPLICATION:
Separating the positions from the names of the organizations in the activities section; removing the counselor contact information from the Education section; adding the COVID-19 essay.
Nothing too major here.
PROBLEMATIC ISSUES RELATING TO THE NEW APPLICATION RELEASE:
The “Advisor Preview” function is not working and will not be available until “later in the month,” the charts with testing and other application requirements are incomplete and have not been updated since April
Regarding the Advisor Preview, this is why we use our students’ usernames and passwords in order to get right into the applications to edit and review. Not a big deal - if you are working with someone who is reviewing your application, make sure they have your login information.
Regarding the latter, make sure to review each school’s requirements on each individual school’s website. Do not rely on the Common App ® for this at all during this application cycle.
SCHOOLS WE ARE LOVING BECAUSE OF MANY LESS ESSAYS THIS YEAR:
Pitt, Delaware, Wake Forest
Yes, five total from Wake is many less.. I’ll take what I can get!
NEW ESSAY PROMPT THAT WILL GET THE MOST SIDE-EYES:
Engineering and Computer Science students are sometimes assumed to have personalities with shared traits or characteristics. What is a trait or characteristic you believe you share with other engineering and computer science students and another where you differ? Please tell us about these two traits and why you chose them. (250 word limit)
I think this could make for a very awkward essay coaching session! That said, it’s important that the person helping a student write this essay is confident enough to approach this from a positive, but authentic perspective even if it makes for an uncomfortable conversation.
Remember, the admissions committee will read this in the context of teacher and counselor recommendations, so an applicant can’t pretend to be someone they’re not.
This is an essay where I’d definitely recommend bringing in some professional help if a parent and student are working together.
FAVORITE NEW ESSAY PROMPT:
What brings you joy? (200 word max)
This one is pretty fun, right? I’d recommend that students think about the characteristics that they have demonstrated throughout their application (and those they are trying to show in the supplement) and making sure their answer lines up. Because there are probably lots of things that actually do bring the student joy - so it’s best to pick one that aligns with the overall message.
This is also one where the student will really want to focus on showing, not telling, so the reader can understand the entire experience and why it feels joyful. The more specific the better! This will help it stand out.
Here’s an example from my own life. Off the top of my head, here are three things that bring me joy: spending time with my kids, learning about my students’ college acceptances, and clean and organized spaces. They are all true, but each of them would give the reader a very different message about who I am.
If I were writing this and wanted to share a more personal side of myself, I’d go with the one about my kids. Then I’d bring more specificity into it by focusing the response on a specific weekly tradition we have that I love. So it would be a little more unique and descriptive than just saying I like to spend time with my kids!
LONG-TIME ESSAY PROMPT I’M THRILLED IS NOW GONE:
Who is the person you dream of becoming and how do you believe Syracuse University can help you achieve this? (Response required in 250 words.)
This was always much harder for students than you’d expect because so many of them took it literally.
I’ll never forget working with a student in the Class of 2011 about why he wanted to become Kobe Bryant - literally. He was dead set on writing the entire essay about turning into Kobe Bryant.
His parents were so grateful when I convinced him that it was not the right approach :)
LONG-TIME ESSAY PROMPT I WISH WAS GONE:
Give us your top ten list.
This is so hard to do well. Students are asked to write their “top ten list” (about ANYTHING!) and are now also given a box to indicate the theme.
Back in the day, they weren’t able to list the theme and the admissions committee had to guess - that terrified me!
The key to doing this well is tying it to the applicant’s background and interests while making sure it’s not cliche or boring. My all-time favorite response was from a student in the Class of 2017 who gave his top ten reasons that Canada is better than the US. It was absolutely hilarious.
If I were writing this for myself…. I’d ask Staci to help me brainstorm ;)
MOST UNEXPECTED BUT PERHAPS SMARTEST “ACKNOWLEDGMENT”:
I hereby certify that I understand that the University of Notre Dame is required by law to report known or suspected child abuse or neglect. I also understand that if I choose to reveal any instances of abuse or neglect in my application, the University may be required by law to report such abuse or neglect to the appropriate authorities.
Makes sense, they are probably mandated reporters. So am I, by the way. Never thought of sharing that with anyone before but maybe I will add it to my contract in the future.
Knock on wood this has never been an issue and I hope it stays that way!
SCHOOLS WE WISH HAD PUT UP THEIR ESSAYS BY AUGUST 1:
Baylor, Fordham, UF, Carnegie Mellon, GWU, NC State, Princeton, more
I know this was a difficult year for everyone on the college side in terms of timing. Hoping the essays come up soon!
SCHOOLS THAT ARE STILL COMPLETELY MISSING FROM THE APPLICATION:
Auburn, UGA
UGA is supposed to by up by 9/1 and I’m not really sure on Auburn. Thought it would be up by now. Will look into that!
GOOD LUCK filling this out! We are finished with our 2020-2021 Common Application ® guides and now I’m off to the Coalition App!
And remember - anyone can purchase access to our application guides this year through the Membership Vault!