Just as the UK has its UCAS system and Canadian provinces have their own application, most US colleges and universities accept the Common Application – an online application that can be completed once and sent to over 1,000 colleges. Even longtime hold-out Georgetown University has finally joined Common App. Many international universities even take the Common Application, including St Andrews in Scotland, Bard College Berlin, American University of Paris, John Cabot University in Rome, IE University in Spain, and many others. However, the Common Application is a little more complicated than university applications in other countries. Here’s an overview to help you get started:
- Create an account on www.commonapp.org.
- You’ll see tabs across the top of the main screen: Dashboard, My Colleges, Common App, College Search, and Financial Aid.
- Although you can create an account at any time, the application for the upcoming 2025-2026 admissions cycle doesn’t open until August 1, 2025.
- Therefore, before August 1st, only complete the questions under the Common App tab (the name of this tab will change to My Common Application post-August 1). This information will be saved when the application opens officially on August 1st.
- Wait until August 1st to start completing any information in the My Colleges tab.
- Everything you add to the Common App tab will go to all of the colleges on your list.
- My Colleges is where you will add the names of the colleges you want to apply to, and it is where you will answer questions that are different for each college, including the supplemental essays. Again, if you complete these before August 1st, your work will not be saved.
- We advise our students to draft any writing – including the Activities Section, Personal Essay, Additional Information, School Change Explanation, Disciplinary Statement, and supplemental essays – on a separate document so that you can take your time composing multiple drafts and perfecting your writing. And, these writing sections can be done earlier in the summer before August 1st, so it’s a good idea to complete these early to leave August to work on supplemental essays once they are confirmed by each college.
- Most importantly, don’t leave your application until the last minute. Since the Common Application typically requires significantly more writing than applications in other countries, you must budget a good amount of time to work on multiple drafts of the several essays you may need to submit. We advise students to complete their applications over the summer rather than waiting until the school year starts.
- Finally, when you are ready to submit your applications – after very careful and extensive editing and review – you will submit the application to each college separately, not all at once. This feature allows you to prioritize completing your applications according to the various deadlines for different colleges.
Although these tips serve as a general overview of how to complete the Common Application, remember that your McMillan consultant has intimate knowledge of the application, and we are here to help you with the inevitable quirks, glitches, and tricks that come with navigating an online application. Use your summer wisely to complete your applications and avoid unnecessary stress next school year!
