2024-25 Common App Tips

ByAimee Heller
A photo illustrating college advisor South Florida at International College Counselors offers Common App tips for completing the 2024-25 Common Application.

August 1 marked the kickoff of college application season. This is the date that the Common Application officially opened for the Class of 2025 and parents and students are requesting Common App tips.

Here are some Common App tips for completing it.

And if you’re still feeling stressed or overwhelmed, do not hesitate to work with one of our counselors. We can make the process easier and more manageable for you.

How to Fill Out the Common Application

Here are steps for how high school seniors can work on the Common Application:

  • Go to commonapp.org and click on the “Start your application” button to get details about how to create an account and log in. (Students can also download the Common App’s mobile app to keep track of deadlines, set reminders and more.)
  • Choose the first-year student option.
  • Add requested information such as name, email, phone number, address, birth date, and planned enrollment year. Tip: Use the same email address you used on your standardized tests.
  • Fill out the user profile with requested details on education, extracurriculars, demographic data, household information and more.
  • Under the Recommendation and FERPA section, add collaborators such as teachers, counselors and others who will provide letters of recommendation or other supporting documents. (This section is a bit tricky; you may need your ICC counselor or your college advisor to help you with this. Many high schools provide written instructions on how to fill out this section.)
  • Under the College Search tab, search for and add schools.
  • Familiarize yourself with each college’s application requirements and follow them. In particular, make sure you submit the Writing Supplement with your application if the college has one.

Allot Enough Time to Fill Out the Application

Students should give themselves at least two months to complete their college applications. You need time to fill out background information, gather the required documents, and write the Common Application’s Personal Statement and any supplemental essays that are required by your colleges.

In addition to necessary parental details like employer information and educational background, many schools require applicants to provide recommendation letters and transcripts. Students must give teachers and counselors sufficient time to submit these materials to the Common App before the deadlines.

The Common App Essay Prompts and Where to Find Them

Below you will find the seven Common App essay prompts for the 2024-2025 college admissions cycle. Students need to choose and answer only one prompt.

  1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
  2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
  3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
  4. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
  5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
  6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
  7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

As noted above, some institutions may also require students to submit one or more supplemental essays and/or additional information. Applicants can see the requirements for all schools on the Common App when they log in to their student accounts. Be careful, some essays may be buried in an expected location, like Wake Forest which hides an essay in the Contacts section of the Common App, and Washington and Lee and Colgate University which have additional essays in their online applicant portal after the student has submitted their application. 

Help on the essays is available from our sister company Edit the Work who will ensure that the essays are well-written, impactful, and aligned with the student’s overall application strategy

Get Help With the Common App

ICC students with questions about completing their application can consult their expert college advisors. Otherwise, student can seek assistance from their high school counselors and/or admissions officers at prospective colleges.

The Common App provides numerous resources to simplify the application process, including details on financial aid and scholarships.

Additionally, the platform offers live chat, video tutorials, and 24/7 technical support. Applicants can access answers to frequently asked questions or submit their own inquiries in the Student Solutions Center.

Help is available from our International College Counselors experts who will ensure that the application showcases your student’s experience, strengths, and skills

Alternatives to the Common App When Applying to College

Students are not required to use the Common App for all schools. In fact, some schools do not even accept it, though more than 900 do. 

Some state school systems, like the University of California schools, which include UCLA and UC Berkeley, have their own application systems that students can or must use in order to apply. Public universities in Texas also have their own application, ApplyTexas, though some, like UT Austin, will accept the Common App in its place.

Some private schools like Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Georgetown University only accept applications through their websites. Most other colleges and universities accept applications through the Common App.

Other applications accepted by some schools include the Coalition Application and the Common Black College Application, which serves historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Many schools that use these platforms also use the Common App.

Changes for the 2024-2025 Common App

There are several updates in the 2024-25 Common App, including an updated fraud policy announcement. In response to the rising use of artificial intelligence (AI) in college applications in recent years, the revised policy clearly outlines what constitutes fraud and details the consequences for submitting false information or AI-generated responses. Students must affirm that their writing is their own before submitting their applications.

Great Advice

Don’t wait until 11:59 p.m. on the deadline date to finish and submit your applications!!! Some admission readers have told us that they can see the time stamp showing when a student has submitted, and doing so at the last minute tells them: a) their college is not one of your priorities, and/or b) that you are not well organized.

International College Counselors

For help with the Common Application, choosing which colleges to apply to, essay writing and more, work with an advisor from International College Counselors. Contact us at 1-954-414-9986 or http://www.internationalcollegecounselors.com.