The college application process is undeniably challenging. Keeping track of a seemingly endless list of supplemental essays, online portals, and individualized requirements can be overwhelming. Luckily, many schools are condensing their Common App by removing many of the long and short answer questions they used to require; unfortunately, some schools – like MIT, Colgate, and the University of South Carolina – have taken this opportunity to move many of their supplemental essays and short written response questions away from the centralized Common App application site and onto their own portals instead. 

Where it used to be impossible to apply without completing your application, it is now extremely easy to submit a half-complete application without realizing you’re missing anything! When factoring in honors college applications, it’s becoming pertinent to keep close tabs on each and every application portal you create. 

To best understand this shift,  it’s important to consider the limitations of the Common App site. Most notably, the Common App has never publicly addressed artificial intelligence, either as a tool for detecting plagiarism or in regard to its efforts to prevent AI-generated content from being submitted in applications. It does, however, indicate that it considers AI to be fraud – if fraud is discovered and confirmed, the Common App maintains the right to disclose that indiscretion to each and every college on a student’s list. 

Despite the heavy penalty, the Common App doesn’t appear to have any surefire way to detect AI. With the rising prevalence of AI in student work, many colleges may be moving their essay-based assessments to their own portals, where they can use more extensive programs to detect these fraudulent applicants rather than relying on admissions readers to recognize and report AI influence. 

More cynically, this shift allows colleges to collect application fees from students who begin, but never finish, their applications, thus turning incomplete applications into profit. Meanwhile, the applications that are fully completed are more likely to come from committed and well prepared students, enabling schools to identify their most dedicated applicants and maintain application fee revenue while simultaneously boosting their yield and preserving their elite acceptance rates. 

Why should I care?  Great question! When you put together your college list, you’ll want to be extra careful to check for prompts even when they aren’t public-facing. The Admission Ignition Essay Master List is a great starting point! Our Essay Master List is a spreadsheet that displays the supplemental essay prompts, word limits, deadlines, and application types for each college, providing students with an organized way to view their scope of work. With this tool to help you stay organized, you’ll be ready to begin writing! Since an applicant login is required for these portals though, you may be the only person who can hold yourself accountable. Check your portals frequently and stay up to date.

If an application seems to have no additional essay requirements, make an effort to submit it early. Most applicant portals take a few days to be set up, so you will want to send in your applications with plenty of time for the portal to be updated – if you can, do so early enough that you could still write and revise a supplemental essay if it pops up in the portal after submission! 

Honors colleges and scholarships, in particular, tend to keep applications within their portals, so keep your eye out for any additional expectations they may have for you.

In the past, students who waited until the last minute to submit their applications have encountered several additional requirements that were impossible to complete within the short time they had left, making all the work they’d already done for the school inconsequential. This doesn’t need to be you!

You shouldn’t worry too much though, since the number of schools switching to this style of application is still small. A move like this is much riskier for mid-tiered schools and public universities than it is for schools like Georgetown and USC, since students aiming for elite schools are often willing to jump through as many hoops as necessary for a chance at admission. 

Regardless of where you apply, you don’t want to be a casual applicant! The switch to personalized portals might even be a tiny advantage for more dedicated applicants – if you check in on your applications often and stay on top of your inbox, these ‘hidden’ essays are just another way to show you’ve maintained interest in the schools you’re applying to! 

If you’re worried about your supplemental essays, reach out to us today! 

Sources:

Common App. Common Application Fraud Policy. Common App,www.commonapp.org/fraud-policy.

Jaschik, Scott. “What the Common App Does.” Inside Higher Ed, 25 Aug. 2019,www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/08/26/study-finds-generally-positive-impact-common-application.

Barnard, Brennan. “AI and College Admission: Don’t Autocomplete Your Application.” Forbes, 1 Aug. 2023,www.forbes.com/sites/brennanbarnard/2023/08/01/ai-and-college-admission-dont-autocomplete-your-application/.