The Additional Information section of the Common App can be a good idea if: Your grades were impacted by personal circumstances or medical issues outside of your control (such as an illness that required you to miss school or if your parents were getting divorced) · Part 2: What to include in the Common App Additional Information section Low grades. You may be worried about the one B+ you received in AP Chemistry during sophomore year. But this is not the Low test scores. High-stakes standardized tests are always stressful, and extenuating circumstances can Estimated Reading Time: 9 mins · Go to the “Common App” tab, select “Writing” from the sidebar, and click on “additional information.” So what should you put in the Additional Information section? Step back and take a look at the information you’ve already included in your blogger.comted Reading Time: 9 mins
How to Use the Common App Additional Info Section
TABLE OF CONTENTS Click to skip ahead What is the Additional Information section on common app additional information section Common Application? What SHOULD you put in the Additional Information section? What should you NOT put in the Additional Information section?
Important: This is not meant to scare you into feeling like you have to put something in the Additional Info section. It is only supporting information. You do not have to include anything there. But students are often baffled by what to do with this section. So here goes:. Log into the Common App website. What might not make sense and need an explanation? Ask someone who knows you and, ideally, the college process well to offer their editorial perspective.
What follows are about a dozen possibilities for items you might include, written with input from some of my wonderful colleagues on both sides of the college admission desk. So you might write a short bullet point description in your Additional Info section that looks like this example:. Quick tips for writing activity descriptions in your Additional Info section:. Be brief. Imagine your reader is a very important person with a hundred more applications to read before Friday.
Because they are and probably do. Be specific and focus on impact. In this case, how much money did you raise? Whom did it help? Put your details in descending order of importance. The most important stuff should go at the top, since the reader may be skimming. Avoid special formatting. This goes for your personal statement too. Instead, create common app additional information section bullet point version of your essay so the reader can get the information more quickly.
The Durham Youth Commission is a teen-led faction of the Durham County government that was created to provide youth input in local politics. To get into the Commission, applicants must submit a thorough description of their extracurricular and academic interests as well as answer questions about what they would like to see accomplished during their time in office.
Out of applicants, I was selected to serve on the commission two years in a row along with about 25 other high schoolers attending school in Durham. Along with promoting efforts to combat gun violence during my time serving in the DYC, we also pursued advocacy projects to address mental health challenges and food insecurities.
The Commission was regularly updated by various city officials about the nature of their work, including the Mayor of Durham. The DYC also attended several conferences hosted by other city youth councils to build leadership and communication skills as well as encourage active community involvement. I volunteered over 60 hours each term I served on this commission for organizations like Common app additional information section Market, Peace Toys for War Toys, Habitat for Humanity, and Kids Voting, common app additional information section.
The bullet points version is shorter and easier to read. Did open heart surgery keep you from getting the best grades possible in 11th grade? Focus on information. Not fluff. Just the facts. Focus on impact. How did it affect you? Be specific. Did your grades go up afterward? If so, say so. Mention it even if your counselor is mentioning it. If you choose to discuss mental health issuesbe sure to run it by your counselor before submitting, as depression and anxiety can often raise more questions than they answer.
Admission officers want to make sure their future students have the resources they need on campus. If you do not have a counselor and identify as low-income, you can sign up for one.
What might be a red flag? Something in your application that could raise questions in the mind of the admissions reader e. Anticipate questions the reader may have and offer an explanation that provides context.
Did you drop the sports to focus on academics, for example? Or maybe you had a complex schedule conflict? In terms of length and tone, be as concise as possible and explain rather than complain. I dropped water polo and cross country after sophomore year due to chronic back problems.
My back healed by Junior year and I returned to water polo as an assistant coach, but chose not to return to cross country so I could focus on academics and get a job to help pay bills at home. Others have their parents drive them that far, common app additional information section. This means extracurriculars have been relatively tough to participate in, common app additional information section. Physical disabilities should be diagnosed by a health professional.
If you have a diagnosed Learning Disability, you might include a bit of context to help clarify and describe the learning challenge. How has the disability impacted your academic performance and what steps have taken to navigate your disability? If you are dyslexic, for example, do you use audio books as a work around? Indicate when the disability was diagnosed and what you have accomplished or navigated since the diagnosis. Pharmacological treatment, however, common app additional information section, led to a complete change in academic performance.
Unfortunately, I do not believe that standardized tests reflect my ability, especially as someone with ADHD, as having more time on a test can be difficult when focusing is the issue, common app additional information section.
Important: Not everyone has to disclose. Ask your counselor what makes sense for your application. If a family member is disabled or has been unable to work and this has had an impact on your life or academics, consider including a few sentences of context, common app additional information section. Here are three examples from separate students:. I would like the admission committee to common app additional information section that my younger brother has spina bifida and my family and I devote a considerable amount of our free time to his care and trips to the doctor.
It also means that my mother has not been able to work outside of our home since he was born. In my father suffered a series of strokes which left him partially paralyzed and with severe cognitive impairment. He was obviously unable to continue his career as a professor at the local university. With the help of many therapists and medical professionals my father has slowly gained back some of his faculties, but it is rare that he is left at home alone.
My mother and my brother and I are typically by his side making sure he has what he needs and that he is safe. My mother is a beautiful, warm, and passionate person. Sadly, she also suffers from schizophrenia which she allows to be treated only periodically with medication. My sister and I have taken over household chores and bill paying to fill in some of the gaps.
So our students put in 'fake date' indicating that courses are full-year courses. Then they explain in the additional info that the classes actually two-terms long.
Perhaps not. For others with more common app additional information section two high schools, this space can clarify why there was a switch if it wasn't obvious say, due to common app additional information section move.
Other examples: a performing arts, religious, or trade school with a specialized curriculum. What do I mean by unusual classes? North High School in Newton, MA, once had a class called "The Art of the Graphic Novel. You might include a sentence blurb on what that class entailed course objective, highlights of the reading list, and any special projects. In terms of online courses, not all online classes are created equal.
Was it a one-week common app additional information section that required just a few hours work? Also, maybe say why you took the course s. Or did you take it to make room for another class you really wanted to fit into your schedule? Show the reader you were thoughtful in your decision to learn online. So few students do projects like this in secondary school and the topics themselves often say something good about the student, common app additional information section.
For my IB extended essay requirement, I wrote a 4,word thesis arguing that French art film director Gaspar Noé breaks the conventions of classical narrative structure as defined by story theorist, Robert McKee. My close reading of Noé's film Irreversible seeks to prove that Noé defies McKee's principles of the inciting incident, law of diminishing returns, and balance of high and low pace scenes by Noé's manipulation of the Russian Formalist elements of fabula and syuzhet.
You might know what the NCMAC Conference is or what it means to be MSRTP Certified, but your reader may not. Make it easy for them. Special Awards or Certifications. Also, when possible, quantify. What else might go here? Low-income family or large family with many dependents, straining family income. How do you know if you should put something in the personal statement or Additional Info section?
Common App Additional Information Section Dos and Don'ts -- How to Fill Out the Common App
, time: 7:25Should I Use the Common App Additional Information Section?
· Based on conversations that we’ve had with our clients and email submissions from our blog readers, there seems to be some confusion about the intended use of the additional information section on the common app website. Let us start by saying that this blog post will give you guidelines as to what should and should not be included in this section, but we don’t know your life · In addition to the Common App essay and Activities List, the Common Application has an additional space where you have the opportunity to provide information about your life in and outside of the classroom. This section is called the “Additional Information” section, and it Estimated Reading Time: 4 mins · Part 2: What to include in the Common App Additional Information section Low grades. You may be worried about the one B+ you received in AP Chemistry during sophomore year. But this is not the Low test scores. High-stakes standardized tests are always stressful, and extenuating circumstances can Estimated Reading Time: 9 mins
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