The Insider: College Admissions Advice from the Experts

College Coach Survey Discovers Key Commonalities in Ivy League Admissions Success

April 1, 2016—College Coach’s annual survey of high school students turned up some surprising common themes in students accepted to Ivy League institutions. Perhaps the most surprising was that students living next door to Harvard and Princeton graduates were the most likely to have success at all eight of the Ivy institutions, with their applications accepted at more than six times the average rate.

National champion in ballroom dance.  Raised money for and built a school in Cambodia.  Accomplished glassblower who work has been shown in art shows.  Worked as a physician’s assistant during international outreach trips with Operation Smile.  Published a popular cookbook for people with Celiac disease.  Synchronized ice skating team.

Mastering the Activities Section of the Common Application

College applicants are infamously known to stress about their essays. And it’s not uncommon for students to spend weeks (if not months) brainstorming their ideal essay topic and then editing it down to perfection. But there’s another section of the Common Application that also requires a great deal of writing yet receives far less attention. Some application readers would argue that it also happens to be the section that applicants most often overlook and under appreciate.

It’s now time to discuss what many students consider to be the most important (and stressful) part of the Common Application: the essay. While we won’t be using this particular blog share advice about what students should actually write (we cover that topic and more in other Insider blog posts), we will be focusing on practical, big-picture issues, like “Why aren’t my paragraphs indented in the print preview?” And if you’re utterly confused by the brightly colored charade known as the new “Writing Requirements” section of the Dashboard, here’s your chance to gain some clarity. (Spoiler alert: while we can explain some of the poor choices made by the Common App, we can’t fix them.)

So the dust has settled. For the past several days, students have been hard at work trying to complete the three dozen or so digital pages that comprise the Common Application. Once you get the hang of it, navigating the Common App becomes almost second nature; you’ll soon find yourself deftly flipping from one section to another with the swift click of a button. But there are still some hidden tricks and common pitfalls that plague many applicants each year. In Part II of our in-depth look at the 2015 Common Application, we’ll answer your frequently asked questions related to the Education, Testing, and Activities pages. Don’t see your burning question listed below? Post a comment at the bottom of the screen, and you’ll have your answer soon enough!

When the Common App went live on July 31, 2015 at approximately 7:40pm ET, I was ready. I pounced on the login page, eagerly typing in a username and password that would usher me to the new and improved 2015 Common App. Although I was already familiar with the planned updates to this year’s Common App, I wanted to see them in action. Would the new print preview feature alleviate much of the stress applicants faced last year? Would the new “Writing Requirements” section become the answer to all of our organizational dreams? Over the next few weeks, please join us as we deconstruct the 2015 Common Application, answering many of applicants’ frequently asked questions about completing their college applications. Up first: setting up your Common Application account and competing the Profile and Family pages.

The Common Application launches today, and students around the country will have the opportunity to login and begin filling out the information within. While we recommend students create an account and begin to poke around the application’s dashboard and other tools, we also want students to know that there is no inherent value in submitting the application as quickly as possible—especially if that means sacrificing the quality of the materials within. Every year an article highlights the kid who submitted the first application of the year. Pay no mind. When apps are read months from now, there’ll be no timestamp on the forms—no priority list based on when apps come in.

I have heard that applying Early Decision at Georgetown and Harvard doesn’t offer an advantage. How can that be? Doesn’t ED send a strong message of interest to your schools of choice?