Common Application Questions and Answers
The following questions were submitted to me by a client, I thought I would share my responses with you – this is for Indiana University (Bloomington), but it’s applicable to hundreds of other applications. My responses are in bold
1. I downloaded the paper application so I could see what it looked like but John is going to submit the electronic one. On the one we downloaded, it said you could attach a personal statement. What do they mean by that? What is a personal statement?
It’s the same as the main essay a student uses for another application, such the Common Application. While the application indicates that sending an essay is “optional,” I firmly believe that “optional” means “required” when it comes to the application process
2. Is there any advantage in your opinion to selecting a major vs selecting “exploratory”? Better to apply to school of arts and sciences or other? Again, any advantages to one or another?
I prefer indicating a major, preferably one that can be supported by a student’s academics or extracurricular activities, as it makes the student look more focused — and the student isn’t bound to that particular major unless it’s in one of the special schools, such as Business or Engineering. Arts & Sciences, which is where most majors are, is easier to get into than Business
3.What does the box “block schedule” mean in the area where you list your classes?
Some schools are on semester, some on trimester, and some on block. Block is when a student takes several full-year course in about 4 months, rather than over the course of the entire year
4. In the SAT section(#19) on paper app, it asks you for the dates you took the college admission tests. Brett took the SAT twice but I only want to submit the January scores since he did much better on that test. Do I still list both dates or only the date for which I am submitting the scores?
Indiana does not require ALL SAT scores (see attached, which is from the College Board and indicates the score-reporting policies of many popular colleges), so all Brett has to include is the date of his best score set.
5. When my older daughter applied to college, she did a paper application, not an electronic one so this is a bit new to me.
No one does paper apps any longer! College far prefer electronically submitted applications as they tend to process everything on computer these days!
6. As long as we keep saving the info we fill out it’s ok, correct.
YES — most applications do not have to be completed in one sitting. That is, a student can work on an application, save it, and return to it later, just as he can when he’s writing a paper using MS Word. Nothing goes until we hit submit, correct? That’s correct!