It’s an exciting time of year! On August 1st—just a few days from now!—the Common App will reopen, and the class of 2022 will be able to start filling out their college applications.
What IS the Common App, you ask?
The Common App is a website on which you can craft one college application…and submit it to over 900 member colleges! It’s been a game-changer in streamlining the college admissions process, for both students and admissions offices alike. Not EVERY college or university accepts their application through the Common App…however, so many higher learning institutions DO that most of the hundreds of students I’ve worked with over my decade in the test prep industry have simply needed to submit their application via this platform…and, voilà, they were done. (Is the Common App a totally new concept to you? Check out this post I wrote demystifying the Common App.)
College application season is truly a rite of passage…as well as a potentially overwhelming time. That’s why I’ve decided to do a brief rundown of all the changes the Common App has made this past year that affect YOU the most:
Change #1: For the 2021-2022 application cycle, some of the general questions on the Common App have been changed or removed.
Over the years, the Common App has noticed that certain student demographics don’t complete their college applications as much as other student demographics, usually because they get tripped up on a single question or two. As a result, the Common App has been working to evolve their application to take these underrepresented groups into account. The idea is that by tweaking, adding, or removing certain questions, the application can become more accessible and representative to ALL students who are applying—not just to the majority.
To further remove these “barriers to entry,” here are the updates for the upcoming 2021-2022 application cycle:
A. Gender Identity Questions
In an effort to better reflect the diversity of students who use the Common App to apply to college, the website will be changing to become more LGBTQ-friendly:
New question to give applicants the option to share their preferred first name;
New pronoun question that lets students multi-select their preferred pronouns or add their own pronoun set; and
The “Sex” question will instead use the term “Legal Sex” to reduce student confusion.
I’m thrilled that the Common App is evolving to be more inclusive, and these little tweaks will hopefully go a long way to give nonbinary and transgender students the level playing field they deserve!
B. Visa and Citizenship Questions
To reduce anxiety and barriers to completion for DACA or undocumented students (defined as students who live in the US but do not have citizenship or a visa), the Common App has removed or made optional certain questions.
Here's what’s changing, verbatim from the Common App blog:
“Replacing the Citizenship response “Other (non-U.S.)” with separate options for international students and undocumented/DACA students;
For all Geography questions, either removing the question or making it optional;
Removing parent and sibling questions; and
Making questions related to parent occupation and parent education optional.”
C. Military
For prospective students who are Military veterans, there’s a simple Common App change that should decrease a barrier to completing the app. Specifically, veterans who apply to college through the Common App will no longer have to answer a question about the nature of their military discharge.
Change #2: The Common App now integrates more smoothly with Naviance!
In an effort to save the sanity of all the high school counselors and teacher recommenders out there, the Common App has figured out a partnership that now allows it to connect to Naviance MUCH more smoothly! (What's Naviance? That's the platform that your school counselor and teachers use to submit important information, like your transcript, evaluations and recommendations!)
From the Common App website:
“Beginning with 2021-2022 applications, Naviance’s integration with Common App will move to a simplified one-and-done workflow. Going forward, this allows for only one submission per form type, including school reports, counselor recommendations, fee waivers, the optional and mid-year reports, and teacher evaluations. After submission, these forms will be made available to all colleges to which a student has applied or subsequently applies.”
In other words, when a high school student asks for a letter of recommendation from a teacher or an evaluation from a counselor, that educator only needs to submit the document ONCE. The counselor only needs to submit the transcript ONCE. Then, the documents will be made available for ALL of the Common App college applications the student completes that require those documents. Thank goodness!
Change #3: The Class of 2022 will be able to use the new Common App APP!
Did you know that 40% of the college applications submitted on the Common App were done on a mobile device? I didn’t either! But because of the fact that not every student has equal access to laptops and internet—and instead use their phones for internet access—the Common App decided to create an app for your smartphone to increase accessibility.
Nifty, huh? You can read about it here.
Change #4: One of the Common App essay prompts has changed
Finally, after a few years of keeping the main Common App essay prompts the same, for the 2021-2022 application season, one of the questions has changed!
Specifically, question #4 has been replaced. Here’s the old question that’s been retired:
“Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma — anything of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.”
And this is the NEW question that’s taking its place:
“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?”
Here’s the full list of Common App essay prompts for 2021-2022 (from the Common App website):
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.
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?
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
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?
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
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?
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.
So, now that you’re caught up to speed, you should have no problems getting started when the Common App opens on August 1st.
And if you still feel lost going through the process—or lost trying to craft truly authentic and stellar essays that bring out your true voice and personality—I’m here to help!
For instance, did you know that you can book college essay writing private sessions with me directly through this website? In my private essay writing sessions, I figure out what specific attributes make you shine and provide continuity to your college applications (I call this your “Organizing Principle”). Then, I help shape your writing so that we bring you to life in 650 words ;)
