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How to Approach the Common App’s Additional Information Section

What’s covered:, what’s the point, is it really optional, reasons to provide “additional information”, how to write an effective response, words of caution.

The “Additional Information” section of the Common Application is perplexing to many. At the tail end of what feels like an exhaustive and painstaking application, this 650-word forum — which is optional and comes with few directions — can seem like a trick. That’s why we’re here to provide a few answers about the Common App section that engenders the most questions.

The “Additional Information” essay is intended to gather extra information that isn’t covered anywhere else in your application, but is important for the admissions committee to know. This could be anything from explaining a dip in grades, to disciplinary action on your record, to an activity that truly requires more than 150 words to explain. If you’re struggling with whether to write something in the “Additional Information” section, consider these questions.

• Were there any extenuating circumstances during your high school career that affected your grades or extracurriculars? Maybe you transferred schools, and your new school did not have a chess club you could participate in. 
• Is there additional context that you believe is important when considering a dip in grades or departure from activities?
• Do you have disciplinary action, or another negative facet to your profile that you would like to explain and discuss?
• Finally, do you have an activity or qualification that will be foreign to the admissions committee that will take extra space to explain? It’s important to emphasize: admissions officers will not appreciate you taking their time to write about something that they are already familiar with, or that could be written about more succinctly in your activities section. These would have to be highly unusual or specific activities or qualifications, as admissions officers are highly informed on the typical activities of high school students.

Yes, the “Additional Information” section truly is optional! If you answered no to every question above, don’t try to work a story so that it will fit, or come up with a story that isn’t truly reflective of your experience. This essay is not intended to be a general opportunity to show greater interest in your chosen school, nor is it another chance to show off your writing ability, personal attributes, or interesting life stories. 

In fact, choosing to write an essay in this section when you don’t need to may even cause the admissions committee to view your application in a more negative light. This section is only for students with difficult circumstances, negative elements on their profile, or aspects of their application that admissions committees won’t understand or appreciate without significant explanation. If this isn’t you, leaving the “Additional Information” section blank is the right choice, and your application is just as effective and complete without it.

Now, if you answered yes to one of the questions above, or have a similar story that you believe would truly affect how the admissions team views your application, you absolutely should make use of this space. Universities want to view your application holistically, and that is only possible if you give them all relevant information. 

If you have disciplinary or legal action on your record, this is a great opportunity to give some context to what happened, and demonstrate how you’ve grown. While it could be tempting to say as little on the subject as possible, this is the only opportunity you get to tell the story in your own words. Choosing not to write about something doesn’t mean that the admissions committee will forget about it; it just means you’re losing a valuable opportunity to choose how to frame what is likely a story that matters to understanding who you are. 

For example, perhaps you’d like to explain a dip in grades. Only do this if you have an explanation that is truly relevant. Don’t lie to admissions committees to explain away a lack of focus or interest in schoolwork. On the other hand, if something genuinely challenged your ability to participate or focus in school, like a severe illness or your parents losing their jobs, you should give yourself a fair shot by allowing your colleges to consider that as they review your application. 

Finally, if you have something that doesn’t quite fit under the “Activities” heading, you should consider making use of this space. Keep in mind that the best place for your extracurriculars is always first and foremost the “Activities” section of your application, as that’s where admissions officers are going to look first to get a sense of who you are outside the classroom. 

But if there is something that requires further explanation, or isn’t exactly an activity, but gives a good sense of who you are, you might consider including it in this section. For example, maybe you spent one summer teaching yourself how to do a standing backflip. You don’t want to go into the same detail you would if you wrote your personal statement about this topic, but a quick line or two about what that experience was like can help show admissions officers your quirky side.

As just touched on, unlike the Common App essay this section should be as direct and succinct as possible. This is not the place to prove your writing chops, experiment with unusual story structure, or show off your unique voice. The best “Additional Information” essays are brief, factual, and to the point. 

More concretely, don’t rely on metaphor or descriptive language: just tell the admissions officers what they need to know to get the fullest picture of why the thing you’re writing about matters to who you are. This could take 50 words or it could take 600, so don’t rush yourself. But it’s crucial that you don’t frustrate a reader with unnecessary detail in a section that is, by definition, additional to the information they have explicitly asked for in the main Common App. 

If you are writing about a negative aspect of your application, avoid making excuses. Take responsibility for what happened, and explain any mitigating circumstances as factually as possible. The strongest essays will include self-reflection and examples of how you’ve grown since this negative incident occurred, perhaps even in ways that were spurred by the consequences of this situation. 

Overall, the best “additional qualifications” essays are specific, factual, concise, and self-reflective. Examples may be provided if necessary, but if the qualification is self-explanatory, resist the temptation to over-describe.

The most important thing with this section is that if you use it, you do so wisely. Do not write an essay for this section simply to fill up space, as that could be actively counterproductive. Admissions committees will not appreciate being provided with “additional” information that is actually redundant. Plus, they only have so much time to spend on your application, so you don’t want to take their attention away from your grades, extracurriculars, recommendation letters, and other “gold stars” just to read something that isn’t actually all that important.

A good rule of thumb is that if you have already mentioned something in your personal statement, your activities list, or in another supplemental essay, leave it out of the essay you write for the “Additional Information” section.

One last thing: you should take the time and energy to prepare this section with as much thought and diligence as all the others on your application. Just because it is optional does not mean it is unimportant. If you decide to make use of this valuable forum, you should do so with care. Pay as much attention to crafting and editing the essay you write for the “Additional Info” as you did to your personal statement. You should fill in this section because you need to, not because you think you should, and if you need to, then your essay should reflect that essentiality

Where to Get Your Additional Information Section Reviewed

If you do have additional information you’d like to share, you want to be sure your essay is clear, concise, and to the point. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of this essay, or any other, from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

HELP!!! Submitting Research abstract for Common App supplement!!

Hey guys so I did research over the summer on anti-cancer agent development in a college chemistry lab. It was about 6.5-7 weeks. I wrote about it A LOT in my common app essay and supplements. However, I don’t know how to go about it in an abstract. I didn’t do the research for a competition or anything, but just basically for experience and to learn more about my major–chemistry. In all honesty, I’m not exactly an expert on the research that the professor did. I tried to learn as much as I could–reading college level organic chemistry textbooks and asking as many questions as I could so I could get the basic jist of it. But I just don’t have the basic foundation in organic chemistry to understand much of the research.I basically worked with NMR, TLC’s to differentiate isomers, and column chromatography while int the lab.

However, I really want to submit an an abstract for the common app since my whole major and essays revolve around the experience. I haven’t had any publications or papers though. My professor already had written an abstract of the research prior to my being there and I found parts of it published online.

Would it count as plagiarism if I put in what I contributed and reworded the abstract my professor wrote?Honestly I’m not even sure I can reword it much since it so much dense terminology and information. I’m just worried that my application won’t really hold any credibility if I don’t submit an abstract.

There is no good reason at all to submit an abstract with your Common Application. No one is admitting you to a college because of the kind of research you assisted with. They are more interested in what the research experience says about you, what you got out of it, how it impacts your future goals and objectives. The research itself is totally unimportant beyond the fact that it was related to your major and shows a commitment to that subject. Ideally, you have a nice letter of rec from the prof who can talk about your attributes as a future researcher if that’s your objective.

And yes, rewording your prof’s abstract is plagiarism: If you have to quote it, just attribute the quote to the professor as you would any other source document that you are quoting from.

Yes. You are talking about plagiarism.

I’m having a hard time believing that this is really what you want to do. You “participated” in research you don’t understand, but you want to write an “abstract” based on the professor’s work to submit as a supplement?

You should only submit an abstract if you’re credited in the paper. Don’t do it.

Ok so are abstracts not really that important to add if you did research? I just thought it was commonplace.

And I should just clear something up. In a lot of college supplement essays I write about how I really like the college’s undergraduate research opportunities to allow student to innovate and discover on their own. I honestly did really enjoy my research experience and it gave insights as to what chemists really do and the work that goes behind what us students learn in the classroom.

Wouldn’t it be peculiar to admissions counselor’s if I wrote about research so much and didn’t put in an abstract?

I would only bother putting the abstract if you did a substantial amount of research and are listed as one of the co-authors of the paper, and if the paper is published. Otherwise, don’t bother.

I don’t think they’re expecting an abstract . Especially if you aren’t listed as an author. Your essays probably give enough insight

It’s not your work, so it’s not your abstract. This is basically all you get: “I…worked with NMR, TLC’s to differentiate isomers, and column chromatography while int the lab.” And you can cite the Prof.

Abstracts are important for what they are, a summary. But all you were was a 6 week extra hand. You admit you don’t even understand it.

Be cautious how you portray this in your app.

It’s akin to your leasing a car and then submitting engineering data, implying you somehow helped design it.

Another NO VOTE for submitting an abstract. This is completely improper in your circumstance.

Did your mentor say it was okay to submit this? If this is ongoing research, submitting anything to another college could be a really really bad idea. I did a similar program this summer and the whole process was very secretive. We were warned that other professors in the same university were constantly trying to swipe information from my mentor’s lab. Before submitting anything, I’d make sure that your professor is completely fine with this. Otherwise, I’d advise against it.

Do not send an abstract. Instead, if you want to emphasize this even more in your application, have the professor write a letter of recommendation. But, would he be willing and able to write a strong, innovative letter for you?

Thank you for all your help guys. So I’ve decided I won’t be sending in an abstract.

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How to Write About Research in Your College Application

So, you’re a standout student who’s done a research project under the mentorship of an accomplished faculty member, in a field you’re incredibly passionate about. Now what? How do you translate all of this into a stellar college application? In this guide, we’ll go through the different ways to write about research while applying to college.

If you are unsure of how you should approach research in high school in the first place, then check out our guide here .

Does research look good on my college application?

Yes, yes, and yes! If you have a passion in a particular area, doing research in that field is a fantastic way to explore your interests, set the building blocks for a future career, and stand out on college applications. The college selection process becomes more and more competitive each year. Doing a research internship or program shows that you are someone with interests, an initiative to pursue those interests, ambition, and an eagerness to learn. You also show that you’ve been able to work in a professional environment early on, along with other expert researchers. One of the most important pros though is that doing research offers ample opportunities to write about an important experience in your college applications.

Should I include my research experience in my college application?

The first thing you should do in the college application process is to identify your story. Who is the “you” you want to convey to colleges? And where does research fit into that? College applications are about proof. If you claim that you are passionate about marine biology and want to be a marine biologist, then the fact that you did research under a marine biology professor is great evidence of this passion. This is something you’d really want to focus on in building your marine biology story. The first and most important avenue in doing this is through writing about it.

Of course, you want to weigh the importance of your research yourself. You might use all or some of the following avenues to mention your research, depending on what you want your holistic application to look like. How much did research shape you as a person? Do you have a lot to talk about regarding your research experience? If the answer is no, you might not write your common app essay about your experience but highlight it in your activities list and add your report as supplemental material. If you have a lot of other, more significant experiences that demonstrate your interest in art history, then you might focus on those, rather than your research in the field. If your research was a core part of your high school journey, then the common app essay might be a great place for it. It’s up to you to decide, but decide carefully: wherever you showcase it, make sure your research experience has optimal function and added value in the place that it is.

When NOT to include your research experience

Don’t try to force research in where it doesn’t fit. In your interview for example, you want to bring up your research experiences naturally. You want it to fit easily into your story, not force it down your admissions officer’s throat! Talk about the genuine, special moments you experienced; that’s the best and most effective way to make it fit! If there were no genuine, special moments, if you don’t think your research really helped your growth—don’t make it into something it’s not.

If you do choose to include it (most will), here’s where you could include it -

The eight places to include research in your common app

Write about research in your personal statement essay

Almost all schools require a common app or personal statement essay and a couple of other supplemental essays. These essays are important: this is where you explain your story and your passions. You might therefore choose to have your research experience act as the topic for the common app. If you choose to do this, then you’ll really need to focus in on one story from your overall experience. This is not the time to show off all your accomplishments in the lab: leave that to the awards list. This is the time to remember: what was a moment you felt challenged in the field and fought to overcome this challenge? Was there a moment where you realized that this was really what you wanted to do as a career? How was doing research a truly unique and changing experience for you, and can you tie this into what the rest of your application says about you? To be able to tell these stories effectively, you’ll want to keep track of what happened each day of your research program or internship. Write things down and reflect during the process, rather than trying to remember what you felt two summers ago.

That being said, you want to think about the best possible story to tell for your common app, the one that most represents you . If the best story you can tell doesn’t belong to your research experience, then don’t force yourself to write about your research projects. Instead, you might include it in another way. For example, Student A wants to write about how she realized she wanted to be a physicist. The focus of her essay is on her first-ever physics class and how she was blown away by the work of Marie Curie. In the end, she continues the story by mentioning the different ways she has pursued physics since, including her independent research projects in the field, showing the admissions committee that she is truly passionate about this path.

Include research in your supplemental essays

The same logic that followed your common app essay can be applied to the supplemental essays. If you don’t think your research internship should star in the common app, but it is still something you really want to talk about, then the supplemental essays are the place for it. These essays usually have given prompts; make sure you are able to talk about research in a passionate way while following the prompt. Again, it should still be about the important moments you experienced while working under your mentor or with your team. Again, don’t focus on the data, numbers, or achievements quite yet; leave that to your activities and awards list.

When schools ask the question “why us”, including your knowledge of researchers at the school can be a great way to showcase what you know. You can relate back to your own research and then talk about how this research would fit in one professor’s lab at the school.

List your research in your activities list

Your activities are typically going to be listed in order of importance. Your research should probably be in at least the top three: it’s definitely a unique experience to demonstrate your passion and shows you’ve taken that extra step that most students don’t take. You’ll want to describe your experience succinctly while including some standout details: what was the name of your professor? How many people worked on your team? How many people was your paper peer-reviewed by?

Put your publications in the awards section

There is also an awards and honors section in the common app. If you have any recognition related to your research (ex. first place at a research fair, best research paper, chosen to be published in a journal, etc.), this is the place to list them. You are allowed 100 characters to describe each honor—if the award isn’t incredibly well known or needs some context, you’ll want to add a small description. Who is the award given to? How selective was the process?

Showcase your research through supplemental material

Supplemental material is not required by any college, but it is where you provide information that you feel really adds to your college application. If your story centers around your passion in this field and you were able to complete a research paper, create a final presentation, or a final report, this is “proof” that would greatly add to your application and the picture of “who you are.”

However, it’s important to note that if you choose to submit a supplement like a research paper, it needs to be a good one. It’s one thing to say that you’ve done research and were good at it, it’s another thing to actually show this research and have admission officers read through it. You might make sure that your report or paper has been thoroughly proofread by your research advisor, as well as their colleagues.

Having your mentor write about your research through a letter of recommendation

A huge benefit to doing research is that you gain another potential letter of recommendation, this time from an expert in what you claim to be your field of interest. Many students have their mentors submit an additional letter of recommendation for them, attesting to their skills, passion, knowledge, and eagerness to learn. This is incredibly helpful if your mentor is a university faculty member, even more so if they are a faculty member at the university you’re applying to. They can speak on how great you fit into a university environment and how well you work with the advisors and students at that university.

To get a great recommendation, you need to develop a great relationship with your mentor. Make sure you have given your research experience your all and show everything you have to offer. Ask them questions, be curious, be inviting, and be yourself!

Add research experience in your resume

The common app offers optional space for you to include your resume. If you think it would be fitting, this is the perfect place to put your research internship. In the resume, you want to summarize your experience in just a few bullet points, capturing the most important parts: this will be similar to your activities list. You can think about having one or two quantitative and one or two qualitative bullets. For the quantitative: what data did you help find? What computer programs did you master? What was the size of the team you worked in and what did you guys accomplish? For the qualitative: what skills did you build? What parts of the project did you lead? Make sure to also include the dates, the institution or program, and your mentor’s name!

Talk about research in your college interview

Chances are that your college of choice is going to interview you to decide whether or not you’re a good fit. This is a great way to push the narrative that you’re interested in a particular field, and you’ve pursued research opportunities in this field. For example, if they ask you why you’re interested in the college, you might bring up how you worked under one of their professors during a summer internship. You might bring up that you stumbled upon one of their department’s research reports while you were doing your own research on the topic and found it incredibly fascinating! The interview is a great place to get more detailed and show how interested you really are.

Tips for including research in your college application

Ask your mentor to go over what you write

The research mentor you worked under has a lot of experience in writing about research. If you had a great experience working for them, then they’d be more than happy to look it over and check for accuracy, mention moments in the lab you forgot to talk about, or other data you could include. They know how to best frame research experiences on your resume, what statistics are most impressive, etc. If you didn’t have a research mentor while conducting your research, the mentors at Lumiere are always happy to help!

Keep a balance of quantitative and qualitative descriptions

The essays are a great place to get qualitative: what was the story? How did you feel? What was a moment where you learned? The resume and awards list is a great place to get quantitative. If your program was very prestigious, include the acceptance rate! If your paper was very highly reviewed, include the rating! In your application, you want both elements you can tell stories about and elements you can back up with numbers and evidence for your research to seem well-rounded. You want to show that it was a) a great learning experience and b) a legitimate, accomplished one.

Let’s address one final question: do you need to publish your research to talk about it in your application?

The answer is: certainly not. Very few high school students get their research published, although Lumiere does provide a guide on selective high school research publications . The point of research in high school is to gain skills, expertise, mentors, and stories you can talk about, while showing colleges what a motivated, passionate student you are. This means the most important thing is not publication, but the ability to showcase your research well in your application.

If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects like data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, and chemistry, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs ! 

This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. 

You can find the application link here

Another option for getting research experience

There are many ways to get research experience. If you are passionate about research and want to do advanced research, you could also consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program , a selective online high school program for students that I founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 2100 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.

Amelia is a current junior at Harvard College studying art history with a minor in economics. She’s enthusiastic about music, movies, and writing, and is excited to help Lumiere’s students as much as she can!

Supplementary Materials

All the information that we feel is crucial in making an admission decision is included within our required documents. Most students who apply to Penn do not submit any supplemental materials. However, some applicants may feel that their application is missing key contextual information representing who they are and decide to submit supplemental materials such as another recommendation letter, an expanded resume, a research abstract, or an art or music sample.  

While there are rare instances where additional information may benefit an application, we ask that you are selective and discerning about submitting any supplementary material. We cannot guarantee that all supplementary materials submitted will be reviewed during the application process. In most cases, too many extra documents can take away from the strength of an application. In short, keep it simple!  

Below are guidelines to follow when submitting anything that is outside of the required documents.    

Please note that materials outside of those listed below will not be considered.  

Penn does allow for one additional supplemental recommendation letter beyond the three required. Please be selective when deciding whether you need to request this supplemental recommendation letter, as an additional letter is meant as an opportunity to ensure equity in our process for students who may have unique circumstances that require more context.   

If you decide to submit this letter, please be sure to choose someone who knows you personally and whose perspective would add information not captured elsewhere in your application. This person may be a supervisor at work, mentor, coach, arts or music instructor, spiritual leader, or cultural leader. Letters from family members and close family friends typically do not provide information that is helpful for our evaluation process.   

If you choose to submit an optional additional letter of recommendation, please submit it directly through the Coalition or Common App.  

Students who have completed notable academic research should use the activities section or additional information sections of the application to convey these achievements.  

If, however, there is a brief abstract or explanation of your work that you could not include in other required parts of the application, you may submit this document as a supplementary material through your Penn Applicant Portal. You will be able to access your Penn Applicant Portal after you submit the Coalition or Common App and the Penn Supplement.  

Students with exceptional and recognized talents in visual arts, performing arts, or music, should use the activities section or additional information sections of the application to convey these achievements.   

If, however, there are samples of your work that you could not include in other required parts of the application, you may upload them to an external host site—like a personal website, YouTube, or SoundCloud—and then submit a document with any URLs/links as a supplementary material through your Penn Applicant Portal. You will be able to access your Penn Applicant Portal after you submit the Coalition or Common App and the Penn Supplement.  

Art or Music samples may be examined by faculty members from a relevant department, but there is no guarantee that an expert will be able to evaluate your materials. 

Portfolios will only be reviewed in three instances:

• At least one drawing or painting in a physical or digital medium.
• At least one 3D composition made with software such as, but not limited to, Blender, Autodesk Maya, or Houdini.
• Additional visual artwork in any form of medium is also welcomed, such as sculptures, assemblage, videos, animations, games, etc. Submit pieces that highlight your sense of aesthetic taste and vision and your eye for composition. Your submissions should also be representative of your experience using modeling and/or animation software. The Program encourages you to explore how the computer transforms your artwork and design ideas. Please limit your selection to 5-12 pieces, or a maximum of 5 minutes of video.
• If you decide to submit a portfolio, please include a minimum of ten different works.
• Uploading an artist's statement of at least 300 words is strongly encouraged.
• Transfer students applying to enroll as second-year students in Architecture are required to submit a portfolio. There is no specific number of submissions that must be included. Third-year transfers are ineligible to apply to the Architecture major.

Learn more about undergraduate programs available in the arts, design, and architecture.

File Sizes and Types for Portfolios

We support media files as large as 5GB, but please be advised that larger files will take longer to upload from your internet connection and may stall if you are on a wireless connection or one that cannot sustain a connection uninterrupted. Uploaded documents may contain no more than 75 pages. We support the following file formats:  

• Video: .3g2, .3gp, . avi , .m2v, .m4v, . mkv , .mov, .mpeg, .mpg, .mp4, . mxf , . webm , . wmv  
• Audio: . aac , .m4a, . mka , .mp3, . oga , . ogg , .wav  
• Slide: .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, . png , . tif , .tiff  
• Document: .doc, .docx, . odg , . odp , . odt , .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .rtf, . wpd  
• Upload Link or URL  

Common App Mistakes: Errors to Avoid in Your Application

• March 8, 2021

If you’ve embarked on the scary but exciting journey of applying to college, you’ve probably heard of the Common Application. If you don’t know, the Common App is an application system that eases your workload by sending your information to most (if not all!) of the schools on your list. The Common App helps you organize your information, activities, and scores so that you don’t have to type them multiple times to send to each institution. Over 800 colleges use the Common App, so chances are, at least a few of your schools are members of this portal. It is divided into different sections:

• Additional Information

At first glance, the Common App can seem overwhelming. It’s very easy to forget a tiny detail that can make a big difference in how your applications are evaluated. Look over our list of frequent mistakes to stay extra careful. If you avoid the following Common App mistakes , the process of filling out the portal will go much more smoothly and help you submit clean applications. 

List of Common App Mistakes You Should Avoid

Mistyping personal information.

When filling out the Profile, Contact Information and Family sections of the Common App, be very careful. It’s surprisingly among the top Common App mistakes to mix up your school address with your house address, put your sibling’s first name where your first name should go, or accidentally reverse two digits of your phone number. These sound obvious, but you’d be amazed how often it happens. Read through each section very carefully, and double-checking that all names, addresses, and phone numbers are correct.

Having someone else fill out the application on your behalf

 This is your application. Of course, it’s okay to have a parent or teacher proofread the different sections. But ultimately you should be the one physically typing everything in the Common Application. When you fill out the Common App, you have to affirm that everything you’ve submitted is your own work, factually correct, and presented honestly. Don’t start your college journey by compromising your integrity!

If someone else is typing from your account, they won’t know everything about you because nobody knows your interests, grades, and extracurricular activities better than you do. Only you can paint a full and clear picture of what you’ve achieved so far. Moreover, you’re going to have to fill out a lot of applications when you’re in college – for courses, fellowships, clubs, and more, so start making a habit of it now. 

Only listing native languages

You do not have to be fluent in a language to add it to your Common App profile. Though this error won’t make a huge difference, it’s still pretty impressive if you can read and write in two or three languages even if you’re not a native speaker. For example, if you’re hoping to major in Middle Eastern Studies, the ability to read or write in Arabic is undoubtedly an asset. Admissions officers will understand more about your interests and/or cultural background through the languages where you have relatively proficiency.

Confusing community-based organizations with other outside resources

The Education section of the Common App asks whether you’ve received support with your college applications from any community-based organizations. It’s important to know which organizations count. Examples of community-based organizations are Quest Bridge, Upward Bound, Boys and Girls Club, and The Posse Foundation. Community-based organizations do not include guidance counselors or private counselors, so don’t include them as your answer to this section.

Listing that you are “undecided” in the Future Plans section

This entry among the Common App mistakes is one you don’t want to make. Since you’re in high school, you probably don’t have your entire career plan mapped out right now. Having said that, you shouldn’t select “Undecided” under “Career Interest” in the Future Plans subsection under Education. Doing so tosses away an opportunity to tell admissions officers something about yourself. Colleges might think you haven’t put any serious thought into your career, or that you lack ambition. So brainstorm what your academic interests are, what you’re passionate about, and what you can see yourself doing. Your answer here doesn’t have to be set in stone, so don’t worry, you’re not making a lifelong commitment! 

Overemphasizing extracurricular activities

The Common App allows you to add up to 10 extracurriculars in the Activities section. For some students, this number may be a lot. It can be tempting to exaggerate your achievements to appear more impressive – saying you’ve led projects for your organization when you’ve been just a general member, or stating your documentary has reached over 100,000 views when it only has 1000. Instead of exaggerating your accomplishments, focus on framing what you’ve actually done so far in a way that exemplifies your leadership and communication skills, highlights tangible achievements, and conveys your passion and interests. An important inclusion among Common App mistakes is making sure you don’t overstate the hours spent on an extracurricular either. Admissions officers are smart enough to do the math and know that your after-school clubs adding up to 40+ hours isn’t exactly accurate.

Failing to take full advantage of the space available

You can add up to 150 characters to sum up each of your 10 activities. No, that’s not a lot of characters, but being able to summarize your extracurriculars is also an opportunity you don’t want to miss. So don’t just name what you’ve done – optimize the space to describe it further. Use strong verbs to be as specific as possible, and remember to prioritize your tangible and quantifiable achievements. 

Using uncommon acronyms

While you don’t want to run out of characters when describing your activities, you also don’t want to leave admissions officers confused and lost when they are reading your Common App. So even though the names of organizations may take up a lot of characters, using acronyms for uncommon institutions will not work in your favor. It’s okay to use well-known acronyms such as UNICEF or BBC. But if you use acronyms for obscure online magazines or grassroots organizations, such as ASOFFM, admissions officers will not immediately know that you’re talking about the Asian Student Organization for Future Musicians. 

Adding non-academic achievements in the Honors list

The Activities section in the Common App includes a subsection to list your honors and achievements. The Common App does specify that your achievements indicated in this section must be “academic.” While the definition of academic includes an art prize or published journal article, this is not the place where you mention that you’ve won a nationwide award for video gaming or set a new world record for hopscotch. Use your best judgment to determine what counts under academic achievements. When you think about Common App mistakes to avoid, remember that if the award is in an area that is a common academic department at college, then it is fine to list here.

Mixing up grades

This one is of the easiest Common App mistakes to make, and easy to avoid at the same time. When listing your grades, be careful about transcribing information onto the Common App. Admissions officers expect consistency!

Reporting standardized scores incorrectly

On a similar note, you do not want to type in the wrong scores for standardized tests, whether intentionally or by accident. Your official SAT scores are sent by College Board to each of your schools, so if you’ve made an error on the Common App, and it doesn’t match the official score, admissions officers will grow skeptical about your entire application, even if you did type the wrong score by accident. Proofread everything!

Selecting the wrong essay topic  

Before you write or paste your personal statement in the Common App, you have to indicate which essay prompt you’ve answered. An easy error you can make here is mistakenly selecting the fourth prompt when you’ve actually answered the third. Your essay will leave admissions officers confused or believing that you didn’t answer the prompt. 

Answering only parts of a prompt

Speaking of incorrectly answering a prompt, often personal statements and supplemental essay prompts contain multiple questions. When you’re reading fast it’s easy to overlook a second sentence or miss a section part of the question, and only answer half of the prompt. Make sure you read very carefully and note exactly what the question is asking for before you sit down to outline your essay. 

Writing your personal statement about someone else

Your personal statement is exactly what it sounds like – it’s an essay about you . The essay is your chance to tell a story about your life or highlight a part of you that cannot be guessed from reading the rest of your application. What it also means is that you can’t make someone else the protagonist of your own personal statement. Yes, your grandfather’s experiences at war could have inspired you. But his story is unlikely to belong in your essay. It’s not his college application. As you think about Common App mistakes , remember that your goal is to avoid focusing on anyone else and instead write a powerful essay that narrates a unique story about you .

Doing a poor editing job

You’re going to have to do a lot of writing in college. You shouldn’t submit a sloppy first draft as your final Common App personal statement. Proofread multiple times, and have a parent or teacher proofread as well. Make sure you’ve used correct spelling and grammar. Avoid flowery language and overused figures of speech. Go through multiple drafts to make sure you’re turning in the best essay you possibly can. Your writing has to capture admissions officers’ attention from the very beginning. Any glaring errors will work against you. 

Writing generic supplemental essays

When you add your colleges on the Common App, you’ll be able to see supplemental questions for most colleges. While some prompts may overlap, such as “why do you want to go to our school,” avoid submitting the same supplement for multiple schools because they will end up sounding generic. Don’t copy and paste an essay for one school onto another because you might forget to change the name of the school. The last thing you want is to accidentally mention Harvard in your Princeton essay, but admissions officers see this every year. Instead, look through the website of each school and find examples of what you’re excited about – whether it’s certain courses, the ice cream selection at the cafeteria, or the research facilities. You want admissions officers to see that you’ve done the research and that you’re genuinely interested in the school. 

Using the Additional Information section as an extension of other sections

This is among the Common App mistakes many students make. The Additional Information section at the end of the Common App should not be used as a continuation of your personal statement or your activities list. Those sections have assigned character limits for a reason. This section can be used to explain extenuating circumstances, link to a research abstract, or include your writing or art portfolio. 

Closing the tab without saving

When you click the “continue” or “back” back buttons after you’ve filled out a section, your information is automatically saved. However, if you close the window without clicking either, or you refresh the tab, everything you’ve put in will be lost. So make sure all changes are saved before you exit. You don’t want to lose progress and have to re-write all 10 of your activities. 

Forgetting that all schools aren’t on the Common App

Don’t start planning your next vacation once you’ve finished filling out the Common App. Remember, not all schools are member colleges. Some, such as the University of California schools, MIT, and schools in Texas have their own application systems. So your job may not be done. Make sure that you’ve completed your profile on all applicable portals. You don’t want to scramble the day before the deadline. 

Waiting until the last minute

The Common App cannot and should not be entirely filled out in one day. As you know by now, it’s easy to overlook instructions or mix up numbers. You need to give yourself enough time to gather all your materials, and actually sit down and carefully list your information. Don’t wait until the day before your first college app is due to start writing down your name and contact information. This can be started as early as August 1st when the Common App opens. Take advantage of the time now when you’re less stressed to keep ahead of the deadlines. 

Once you work on your application, review this list of Common App mistakes according to the section you’re tackling. Completing the Common App requires a significant amount of time, but once you’ve hit that submit button, college applications will be out of your way. Remember – start early. As August rolls around, log on to commonapp.org and start filling out your information. Good luck!

Tags : college application mistakes , common application , common app mistakes , filling out the common app , common app tips

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