(written by Rising STAR, Krystal)

When you are ready to apply to college, you need to know there are a few different ways to fill out college applications. It's your choice which way you want to do it. One choice you have is to submit your application online through the college’s own Admissions Office website. Another choice is to fill out a paper application. But there is one more choice that some 300 colleges nationwide let you use and that is something called the Common Application. The Common Application, also called “Common App,” can be found on the website www.commonapp.org. You can go to this site and fill out one online application and send it to multiple colleges at one time.

I chose to use the Common Application. It made my application process so much easier. I applied to six colleges and only one of the six didn't use the Common Application. You just fill out the online application and choose the colleges you want it to be sent to, and send it. This also meant that I only had to write one essay rather than 5 separate essays!

First check to see if any of your schools accept the Common Application, then also check to see if they require any extra “supplemental forms”. You can find all of this out by simply going to the common app website.

So basically, filing online is much easier then dealing with all the papers you have to deal with when filing a paper application. By applying to college online, you don’t have to worry about paying to mail anything out and don’t have to worry about making sure things didn't get lost in the mail. These are just good things to consider when making your choice.

Until next time,

Krystal