Common App -->> Admission killer?

TranAnhDzung

Trần Anh Dũng
(TranAnhDzung)

New Member
I just think this might be an interesting fact:

I applied to 9 colleges, to 8 of which I used the Common App. The only one "own application" I used was Carleton's, since I applied 2 weeks late, I couldn't use CommonApp for Carleton.
Ok, then those 8 colleges rejected me right? Yeah I know, I'm incompetent. But amazingly, Carleton waitlisted me. Heh, I mean, it's gotta be somewhat interesting, since Carleton's in top 5.

Well, so I kind of jumped into this dumb conclusion that:

Either Carleton's committe was so high smoking weed when they reviewed my application, they put my name on the waiting list for fun (duh); or by filling out a bunch of essays on the college's own form, I was able to show more commitment than writing just 2 essays on the Common App and sending them to a bunch of colleges.

Yeah, just something for those who will apply next year to consider.
 
Great question, Dung :)

I myself refused to use the Common App. when I applied to my current school, even though the common app. required me to submit only 1 essay instead of 4!!! :lol:

After all, I asked myself, what was the point of designing one's own (sometimes very elaborate) application form while the one provided by College Board is so handy?

I don't have the exact answer, but guess this is some experience worth sharing. ;)
 
buddy, I think the fact that you were rejected by 8 colleges ranked lower than Carleton, which waitlisted you, tells little about whether the Common App puts you in an avantageous position or a disadvantageous one.
Bear in mind that most of the colleges that use the Common App recommend that applicants use them. What is the reason behind this? Matter of convenience? Matter of promoting equality? nobody can say for sure except those on the admissions committees. they recommend you use it, sometimes even counsel you against using something other than the Common App... and then they use it against you??? Does it seem at all logica? What do you think is the psyche here?
Also, since I can see that you are a talented student and not, as you have always insisted, perhaps out of a fake sense of modesty often seen among Vietnamese students, on being view as incompetent, I feel the need to tell you this again. the US News ranking tells you not much, if not little, about the colleges themselves. Going after prestige, or as American students often put it, pardon my language, being a prestige whore, will harm you greatly. Carleton is ranked in the top 5 by the US News, but it does not mean that the college itself is better or more competitive than those placed in lower slots. Colleges choose you if they feel that they need you, that you will benefit their community as well as benefit from it. I trust that understanding that fact will help you not only be more confident and learn to regard these first hand failures as minor incidents, but also will help you be more successful later in your college life.
 
Chỉnh sửa lần cuối:
I'm for common app.
The only thing i dislike abt it is that ur essay format can't be what u u wanna it to be. i heard that colleges had a specific tool to switch that 12 pt common app font into st bigger..

--My
 
I really think that schools that are still using their own application are going backwards. If they want, they can still have a few supplemental forms, which most schools do anyway. Carleton is an exception, but I actually kinda like their online application. Maybe they spent so much time developing their online application that they did not want to abandon it.
Anyway, Dung, I got wait listed at Carleton too and got accepted at a few other schools that I only used common application. Does that go against your theory?
 
Yeah it does.

I'm a little confused right now.
But anyways, as people always says, " life is what you make of it" or " college is what you make of it", which college you go to doesn't matter if you know where you're heading or what goal you're reaching. The name of the college in your resume can't beat the experience you have or the skills and knowledge you possess.
After all, companies are looking for people who know how to do stuff, not people with Ivy labels on them right?

Hah, and there's this guy at my high school. He's a Gov teacher, regular Gov teacher. His classes are full of blacks. He has absolutely no control whatsoever. Students laugh at him, mock him, say names and stuff. Guess where he graduated from: Duke U. Sometimes I feel real sad for him.

Thanks Long and Duc. I realized I was just so obsessed with this college stuff. Gotta concentrate more on the studying.

But still, it'd be nice if I have a Williams or Carleton sticker on my forehead... yeah...
 
Bad attitude! Do not give up your dream and just say "it doesn't matter".
"Strive for perfection and you will get some thing closed to it."-Analu(2002-2003).
 
Stupid is he who always tries to speak sophisticatedly without looking into the matter on his speech is delivered. What is perfection? If you don't know what it is, how do you strive for it let alone knowing what is closed to it?
As to the issue discussed here, I see nothing related to either anybody's dream or anybody's hand-waving sort of attitude.
By the way, wtf is Analu? Sounds like a porn star's name.
 
Chasey Lain, Kobe Tai and Analu in Hawaii :)
 
Back to the main question: what are the pros and cons of the Common Application Form?

Here's one answer from collegeadmissioninfo.com:

The Common Application is, as the name implies, a uniform application that is accepted at over 200 colleges across the country. Some of its benefits and drawbacks are outlined below:

To Students
+ Only one essay
+ Time savings
+ Send more applications with less effort

To Admission Committees
+ Encourage more applicants to apply
+ Simplified process also leads to more applicants
- Less individuality among applicants

The Common Application Versus the College's Own Application

Some colleges and universities offer the option of using the common application or the school's specific application. Officially, the schools do not have a preference for their own form and essays over the common application. In fact, the colleges must sign a form promising not to give preference to the applicants who complete the school-specific application.

Unofficially, there is indeed a slight bias towards the candidates who complete the school-specific applications and answer the more customized essay questions. In short, this applicant often appears to be more sincere about the college.

Our Advice to You

Consider these questions when you consider a college that accepts both the Common Application and a school-specific application:

Are you a "stretch" at this college?

Do you really want to attend this college?

Do you have the time to spend on this school's application without jeopardizing your other application deadlines?

Are you confident that you can do a better job presenting yourself in the school-specific application than the Common Application?

If you answered "yes" to all these questions, then use the college-specific application over the Common Application.

Good luck!
 
Hoàng Lê Vĩnh Hưng đã viết:
Bad attitude! Do not give up your dream and just say "it doesn't matter".
Nhấn để mở rộng...
Totally wrong. I understand Mr Dung's thought, also mine :( . "It doesn't matter" here is the name of the college and may be the proud of being in better school, it doesn't mean we stop trying or striving!!! :mad:
 
Nguyễn Đức đã viết:
Chasey Lain, Kobe Tai and Analu in Hawaii :)
Nhấn để mở rộng...
Damn, right on the spot :D
Do you learn all these from Middlebury or from your high school?
University of Montana really taught me some worthwhile stuff. Here @ Amherst, people talk more about Jenna Jameson than Kobe Tai and Vivian Hsu, sadly... sigh........
 
How come some highly intelligent Amsers can be mistaken between Analu and Anal? All you guys can learn in US is just porn and trash talking? It is such a waste of time and money from American Universities for you guys.

Even Analu was death but it was my past and I have make it clear.

The story of Analu.

Once upon a time there lived a boy named Analu . Analu lived in a small village on the island of Maui. Analu really loved the ocean. Every morning before his parents would wake up he would go for a swim. One morning before he was going to take his swim he saw his sister running after him. Analu got really mad and threw a fit and pushed her down and told her to go back home. Then she ran away crying.

At the beach, Analu jumped into the water he noticed something really strange. That so called strange thing seem to look like a fish fin. So Analu thought in his head that if he brought home a fish then his parents would be proud and he would be able to eat a fresh meal.

So he swam to the figure, when he got about two feet from the fin it disappeared so he became sad. Then all of a sudden it jumped up and grabbed his arm. The creature had him on his back in a second. It violently bit at him. Turning his head to the side he found himself starring into the open jaws of a Mano. Analu tried to get away but the powerful jaws of the Mano were too strong for such a little boy. Struggling in the water he tried to call for his sister but she was already to far away. Analu looked to the sky and wished he had not treated his sister so badly. At that same moment the shark smelling the blood became wild and in that time he bit analu's head off.
Late into the day and the blood of Analu still reamains in the ocean.

Xong rồi, chú Hồ Hưng vứt hững bài thảo luận về cái tên Analu trong thread này đi.
 
Chỉnh sửa lần cuối:
Yo, dude,
Can't even recognize a joke? Who gives a shit about Analu, Anal or whatever? The point is, it strikes me as really stupid and funny that you dream up a certain nonsensical sentence that's full of bullshit, gave it a pair of quotation mark, put the name Analu "supposedly your alter ego???" beside it as if Analu (or you) were some really celebrated figure.
Anyway, true, Common Application is the point of argument here :D I'm sorry I have driven the topic all the way into pornography and sentimental bullshitism :)
 
Chỉnh sửa lần cuối:
Đỗ Huyền My đã viết:
To Admission Committees
+ Encourage more applicants to apply
+ Simplified process also leads to more applicants
- Less individuality among applicants

The Common Application Versus the College's Own Application

Some colleges and universities offer the option of using the common application or the school's specific application. Officially, the schools do not have a preference for their own form and essays over the common application. In fact, the colleges must sign a form promising not to give preference to the applicants who complete the school-specific application.

Unofficially, there is indeed a slight bias towards the candidates who complete the school-specific applications and answer the more customized essay questions. In short, this applicant often appears to be more sincere about the college.
Nhấn để mở rộng...



Hmm... isn't "individuality" one of the most valuable sources that tells the committe about an applicant? Because fewer questions are asked in a Common App, fewer personalities and traits of the applicant can be revealed. Carleton, in its own application, asked many short-answer questions, each about 500 LETTERs. Answering those questions is what counts.

Also, in the post "Secret of the SAT" by chị My, if you check out the first sample application, you will see that this applicant, though having a very low standardize test score, was able to show how interesting a person s/he was and got accepted.

I myself wish I had more time to complete every colleges' own application. But I had like a week to do everything. Darn! I didn't even know about all these colleges and that Vnmese people were applying here and there and getting all the aids until I visitted this forum on Jan 16 or something, when I just got through with the applications to some public universities, all of which accepted me. But I can't afford them. I don't even know why I applied.

Oh, nywayz, yeah, it sort of appears to me that students using Common App are a bunch of lotto playaz without any particular interest in any particular college. They defnitely show less commitment than those put hours to finish a individual application.

But who knows what those admission committees think. Blast'em!
 
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