The Application, 6.4.23

For the Class of 2024, what pieces of the college application you can actually complete over the summer!

It's that time of the year when parents are calling wanting their student to complete their college applications over the summer (just so you know, you can't - see below), and students are trying to enjoy the first few days of their carefree summers. So, Class of 2024, this post, what pieces of the college application you can actually complete over the summer, is for you.

First, I think it's important to realize that the Common Application (accepted by 1,00 institutions) does not go live until August 1st (and some institutions, like the University of Washington, do not open their applications on the Common App until September 1st.) Therefore, you can only start submitting applications on August 1st (and for most institutions, there's no preference whether you apply the day application opens or at 11:59 PM on the day of the deadline.) So, no, you cannot complete all your applications over the summer. However, here's what you can work on:

The Common App

Once you create an account with Common App, you can start completing answers to the questions in the Common App tab - Profile, Family, Education, Testing, Activities, and Writing. Most of this is simple, like name, address, high school, etc.; however, there are a few nuances.

Profile > Language

If you've taken level III or above of a language, you can list it here and check the boxes for speak, read, and write to your comfort level. Tip: Latin is not listed, so if you've studied Latin, select "Other" and type Latin.

Education > Honors

There is only space for you to list five honors. If you've received more, I recommend typing a note "see addt'l info" in the fifth spot and then adding the additional honors under Writing > Additional Information.

Testing

I only recommend reporting scores of a 4 or 5 for AP exams. For SAT/ACT scores, I'd consult your college counselor. Depending on the schools you're applying to, their testing policy, and your superscore, you may report your scores to some institutions but not all.

Activities

I recommend completing the Activities section in a Word or Google Doc first. Character count limits it, so you only have 300 characters to quantify your initiative and impact. I think students overlook this piece of the application, whereas colleges dedicate more time to its review. I often spend more time working with students on polishing their Activities List than their main essay.

Writing

See the entire section below!

Courses & Grades

I would ignore this section until August 1st.

That's it for the Common App! If you navigate to College Search and start adding colleges under My Colleges, that information is all for the most recent application cycle (Fall 2023), and the Common App wipes that information over the summer, so you cannot start with Fall 2024 applications until August 1st.

The Essay

Fortunately, the Common App released the essay prompts in February. So, this is one BIG, time-consuming piece of the application that you can start and complete over the summer. Which I highly recommend doing! I have a lot of tips for brainstorming and starting the essay; however, I reserve those for independent clients. Typically, I modify my approach based on the individual student.

For those planning to apply to a UC campus, the UC application does not go live until August 1st; however, they have confirmed that the personal insight questions will remain the same for the next cycle, so you can start writing your response to four of the eight questions.

Supplemental Essays

A few schools will announce their supplemental essay prompts over the summer; however, most do not. While some college counselors have students write drafts for practice based on previous prompts, I've never seen the drafts be incredibly fruitful, so I typically wait until colleges announce the official ones and spend the summer focusing on the other pieces of the application. Also, I only recommend working on supplements once you've completed the Common Application so you do not reiterate information.

Resume

Some institutions allow students to upload a resume as part of their application. I would start with the list of schools you plan to apply to and check their websites to see if they mention resumes. If they don't mention them, I think that's a worthwhile phone call or email to your admissions rep. If none of your schools allow a resume, you want to focus on the Activities and Additional Information sections.

I hope this helps some students (and families) determine what to prioritize over the summer. If you want to work together 1:1, I have a few more spaces depending on your college list, so please reach out!

With gratitude,

Danielle