Common Application

Ralph Figueroa on the New Essay Prompts: Room for Every Story

Ralph Figueroa is Dean of College Guidance at New Mexico’s Albuquerque Academy. Figueroa was one of 15 counselors who served on the Outreach Advisory Committee for the Common Application, advising the organization about the role that writing plays in an holistic selection process.

He joins us here today to talk about the new essay prompts, the process that resulted in the changes and the issues the committee grappled with to arrive at the new guidelines for students.

 

 What impact do you foresee the changes in the writing prompts having?

 

I hope that these changes will make students, families, and teachers think about these essays and talk about them in a new way. Change can be scary, but I am confident that when they read the prompts and the guidelines, they will realize that we have given them real freedom to find the best way to convey information about themselves that will give colleges a better idea of who they really are --beyond the numbers of the admission process.

 

What impact, if any, do you foresee for students?

 

Scott Anderson of the Common App on the New Essay Prompts

Last year, more than 2.5 million online applications were submitted to the Common Application’s 488 member colleges -- from Adelphi University to Yale. The next generation of the electronic form -- dubbed CA4 -- will launch in August of this year. But in the lead up to the unveiling of the digital makeover, the Common App last week announced new essay prompts, as well as a new length limit of 650 words, which will be enforced by the new technology. (You can see our earlier story here.) The Common Application Director of Outreach Scott Anderson joined us to talk more about these changes.

What was the impetus for the new essay prompts? Why was it seen as necessary?

For the last few years, two of our six essay prompts--topic of your choice and significant experience--have accounted for over 70% of all essays. That clustering prompted us to ask: "Can we make our prompts more appealing and, by extension, more effective, both as an invitation for students to share their stories and as a tool for helping our members make informed decisions?"

Common App Ch-ch-ch-Changes

Earlier this week the Common Application board of directors announced changes to the "Writing" section of the online form as part of the digital makeover to occur in August. High school students applying from the class of 2014 will choose from five new essay prompts and will no longer have the option of writing on the "topic of your choice." In addition, the maximum length for responses increases to 650 words.

Here are the new essay prompts:

*             Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete      without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

*             Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?

*             Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

*             Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or   experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?

*             Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

Coming soon: The Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes to the Common App

It's Common Application Week at College Admission. Starting tomorrow, we'll have commentary on the new essay prompts and word limits for the "Writing" section of the Common Application announced earlier this week, including guidance for how students can benefit from these changes. We'll be posting advice and insights from Common Application Director of Outreach Scott Anderson and Outreach Advisory Committee member Ralph Figueroa, Vice President for Enrollment at University of Connecticut Wayne Locust and more. And college advisor Alice Kleeman will be offering examples of possible topics that respond to each new prompt.

When Does the Clock Strike Midnight for Submitting an Application?

College application deadlines generally cluster around the same time, depending on the type of school and the decision plan a student has selected. Hopefully by now you have checked the website of every college to which you are applying, since deadlines can vary from school to school and may be confusing. For example, some colleges have a supplement deadline prior to their Common Application deadline.

Our best advice? Do not wait until the last minute to submit your forms. Many colleges shut down completely between Christmas and New Year’s. If you run into problems, the admission office will not be open to advise you. So plan accordingly.

And if you insist on taking it down to the wire, be aware that on the Common Application, all time stamps are in the United States Eastern time zone, which is where Common Application offices are located. Also, all deadlines are automatically set as 11:59 p.m. This means that if you are filing from Seattle on January 1, with a January 1 deadline, you will need to submit your application no later than 8:59 p.m. Pacific time. Colleges do have the latitude to extend their deadlines to their own local time, and many do. (If you are using another form or electronic provider, check to see how they time- stamp their applications.) Your safest bet is to use U.S. Eastern time as your standard.

Actually, your safest bet is to submit each of your applications well before the clock strikes midnight on the due date.

Andrea O'Gorman, Scarsdale High School

Andrea O'Gorman, Director of Counseling at Scarsdale High School, is our December Counselor of the Month. O'Gorman oversees a department of nine counselors at this Westchester County, New York, public high school, serving 1460 students.  Named as "one of the 144 exemplary schools to which others may look for patterns of success" by the United States Department of Education, Scarsdale High School serves a diverse community with a large international population. 

"The thing that I enjoy most about working here is that students and faculty are so engaged in the learning process," says O'Gorman. "There is so much going on, so many new ventures. Education is the industry of Scarsdale. People come here because they want a school system they can invest in and parents, faculty and the administration are invested. Everyone feels like a stakeholder."

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes for the Common App

We just returned from the annual conference for the National Association for College Admission Counseling -- a gathering of admission deans, high school college counselors, financial aid officers, and others who come together to share ideas about everything from scholarships and access to net price calculators and NCAA eligibility.

At one of the sessions we attended, Common Application, Inc., executive director Rob Killion and director of outreach Scott Anderson unveiled the specifics of an $8-million overhaul of the online system that now has 488 colleges and universities as members. As of August 1, 2013, the three million students who use the Common App will see a new, technologically enhanced version -- Common App 4.0. An improved interface and infrastructure will make it easier to use and hopefully reduce the technical issues students often confront. But there will also be other changes that will affect students.

Some of these changes users will likely see in the facelift include:

Do Sweat the Small Stuff! Part 2

Today, Alice Kleeman continues her excellent blog post about the "small stuff" that can trip up a college application process. Here are more of the frequently glossed-over college-related tasks that can make a difference:

  • Your name

        Seems like a simple question, right?  But maybe you are Maria Juana Ortiz on your birth certificate, and Maria J. Ortiz at school, MJ to your friends, and Maria Juana Ortiz-Santos to your extended family.  Maybe you think that doesn’t matter.  But when a college is trying to join your SAT or ACT scores to your file; when a financial-aid office is trying to figure out whether the aid application it received belongs to you or someone else; when your diploma and final transcript carry different names -- under those circumstances, the name you provide can cause serious delays in processing important paperwork.  Choose one name for the college process and use it every time. 

        Since the Free Application for Federal Student AID (FAFSA) requires you to use the name on your Social Security card, you might as well use that one across the board.

        •     Application “extras”

Ralph Figueroa, Albuquerque Academy

Ralph Figueroa is Director of College Guidance at Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico, an independent day school serving approximately 1,100 students in grades six through twelve. As Figueroa describes it, Albuquerque Academy provides its students with the high-powered college preparatory education of a selective school but with the less anxious attitude that typifies New Mexico. “It’s not high-pressure,” he says. “It’s not frenetic about the college process, kids are much more open to opportunities and options and there aren’t the huge family pressures you sometimes see other places.”

Calling all rising seniors: The 2012-2013 Common Application Preview is Live

Calling all rising seniors… A preview of the 2012-2013 Common Application is now available online. As you will see, differences from the current year’s applications are highlighted on the form. However, students cannot submit their Common App just yet. The official version of the Common Application will not be available until August.

But you can get started on the essay questions and we strongly recommend that you do. Rising seniors should return to school in the fall with their Common App essays completed.

As Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post points out in her column on the preview:

When the Common Application was developed in 1975, officials hoped it would reduce the number of separate applications and essays a student applying to numerous colleges would have to complete. Actually, many colleges still require additional information, including more essays. So students, beware: There’s a lot of work to do.

Over the summer, we’ll have more posts on what colleges are looking for in an essay and some tips for getting started.

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