As the fall season settles in and the year winds down, one thing looms large for our seniors: college applications. College applications can definitely be challenging, but with the right tools and the right mindset, you’re more than ready to take it on! Though this season of life can seem extremely daunting, breaking it down step by step can make all the difference. So, if you’re staring at a blank Common App and wondering where to start, you’re in the right place! Yes, it’s a lot of essays. No, you don’t have to panic. Here’s how to survive (and maybe even thrive) during college application season!
PROFILE:
After creating your Common App account, the first (and arguably easiest) section under “My Common Application” is your profile. This section includes just the basic information about yourself, such as your name, birthday, and address. Make sure when inputting your contact information you DO NOT use your school email address, as this will be deactivated when you graduate! This section also includes application fee waivers, you can view all of the eligibility criteria for these fee waivers by clicking on “Common App Fee Waivers”.
FAMILY:
This section of your application is also fairly easy, but you might want to grab your parents! You’ll need to input information about your parents/guardians such as their email, place of work, and highest education level. If you have siblings, you will need to input their name and age in this section as well.
EDUCATION:
Okay, maybe this section is a little more time consuming. Firstly, you will need to input your current high school, the date you started there, and what month and year you plan to graduate from this school. If you are planning on graduating early, you will input this information here as well. If you have gone to more than one high school since freshman year, you will need to list those schools as well. Under the “Colleges & Universities” subsection, if you are currently enrolled in any dual-credit courses with ICC, you will need to input Illinois Central College in this section. Under the “Grades” subsection it asks for the graduating class size, Dee-Mack seniors you will input 77 (big school, right?). You will also report your cumulative GPA in this section. Next up is “Current or Most Recent Courses”. Here, it asks for you to report the number of classes you are enrolled in for your senior year, make sure you include classes you are taking second semester as well! You will then list all of these courses by name, add their level (honors, AP, standard, etc.), and the duration for which you are taking them. The last subsection of the “Education” portion is your future plans. You will indicate when you plan to start college, the highest degree you intend to earn, and your future career. Don’t worry, if you are unsure of your future like many other seniors, you can click “Undecided” for the degree and career questions!
TESTING:
Here, you will indicate any standardized and AP test scores you wish to report. Dee-Mack seniors, the date of our ACT exam was April 9, 2025. You will report your composite score, and then each individual subject score including writing. For AP exams, you report the amount of exams you have taken, along with exams you expect to take this year. So, if you took an AP Biology exam this year, and are expecting to take an AP Computer Science exam this year in May, you will report “2” for the number of reported tests. Finally, enter your score received if the exam has already been taken, and the date taken/expected.
ACTIVITIES:
The activities section is where you will report clubs, sports, jobs, volunteer work, etc. There are a variety of activity types listed by Common App, ranging from clubs to sports to family responsibilities. This section is your chance to show colleges how you stand out aside from your grades! You will list your position in the activity, and then describe what you did in a maximum of 150 characters. Lastly is the timing of your participation, including grades participated, whether it was only during the school-year, as well as the hours spent per week and then weeks per year. Common App allows you to add 10 activities into this section, so make sure you input those that have been the most meaningful to you!
WRITING:
The college essay. This is oftentimes the most anticipated and important part of your college application. Common App gives you 650 maximum words for your essay, and 250 minimum; there is a list of 6 prompts to choose from, or you have the option to write it on any topic of your choice. Think about something you’ve experienced in your life that has been very meaningful to you, or shaped you in some sort of way. Along with the “Activities” section, your essay should show admissions officers how you stand out, aside from your grades and academic performance.
The “Writing” section is the last section of the “My Common Application”, so the next step is: adding colleges to your list!
HOW TO PICK A SCHOOL:
You may already have an idea of what colleges you’re wanting to apply to, but if you don’t, you’re in the right place! There’s a lot of factors to consider when discussing colleges, but here are a few major questions to consider: Do you want a small school or a big school? Do good sports programs matter to you? Do you want to stay in-state, or go out-of-state? If out-of-state: What region of the U.S. do you want to be in? A good website to help you on your college search is Niche. Niche includes acceptance rates, average test scores & GPA’s of admitted students, and the net price of almost every college in the U.S.! After picking out a couple schools, it’s important to look at their official website to find more information about majors, research opportunities, and to find more information about the school overall. After picking out your schools, head back to Common App, click on “College Search”, look up the colleges you decided on, and click “Add to my list”. From here, you will be able to click on the “My Colleges” dropdown and work on individual applications for each school.
ADMISSION PLANS:
When working on individual college applications, an important question you will be asked is your preferred admission plan. Usually, you will be able to either choose from early action and regular decision, or it will only provide you with the option to choose rolling admission. Rolling admission means that applications are reviewed and decided on using a “first come, first serve” basis, rather than a single deadline to review all applications at once. This allows students to get a decision sooner and the earlier they apply, the better their chances of securing a spot. You should apply Early Action if you have a strong application ready and want an earlier decision without commitment, and Regular Decision if you need more time to improve your grades or essays and want to compare financial aid offers from multiple schools.
After applying to colleges, keep a lookout for an email from each college asking you to set up your admissions portal. This is crucial seeing as sometimes schools need you to self-report your grades and test scores, or they need something else before they can review your application. Senior year is a whirlwind of lasts, college talk, and trying to survive your last few classes. But, the college application process doesn’t have to add to the chaos of your senior year! Take it one step at a time, stay organized (yes, that means checking your email), keep track of deadlines, and don’t wait until the last minute to write your essay. You’ve made it this far, and college applications are just the next step, not the last!
Click here to create a Common App account!