The Common App Opened on Friday: Here Are Five Strategic Advantages Every Senior Should Seize This August
Friday marked the quiet start of what’s sure to be an eventful year for high school seniors. The Common App launched and is live. While we’re still basking in summer’s idle glow, with the first deadlines months away, smart seniors will take the time to set themselves up for strategic advancement in the application process. Benjamin Franklin warned, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Here are my five recommendations for seniors to use August to their advantage:
First, create your account and populate it. List every school under consideration, complete the demographic fields now while they're painless, then review each school's supplemental requirements. Which ask for two essays? Which ask for none? Drop every prompt into a single Google Doc, one tab per school, and put deadlines on a top page, so you don’t have to hunt and wonder as the process intensifies.
Second, finish your Common App essay in August. Admissions officers seek depth and authenticity when reading essays, a genuine story and an honest voice. Take the time to write the essay that reveals your true self and sense of direction. Then spend time polishing, so you submit a clean, distinctive essay that separates you and makes you memorable. Hastily written essays come off as rushed and incomplete. This is the one place to set yourself apart, separate from your resume achievements. Take the time now to do it with heart.
Third, build a demonstrated-interest strategy. Identify your territory representative and their visit schedule. Register for virtual info sessions. Follow admissions offices on social media. Ask whether your target schools offer interviews, and schedule one if so. If you can visit campus, do so, and consider reaching out to a professor in your intended field. Most schools track whether applicants invest time and interest. They want to see that you’ve taken the time to get to know them and don’t want to feel like you’re just casually submitting an application. Set aside 20-30 minutes per day to show demonstrated interest and stay true to it.
Fourth, finalize your list and settle your Early Decision strategy. Map every Early Application and Early Decision deadline now. If one school feels like home, apply ED there. Applying ED can roughly double your odds versus Regular Decision. In the end, colleges are businesses managing enrollment like any other, and ED applicants provide them with a guaranteed return.
Fifth, write a resume and complete a LinkedIn profile. AI tools can help draft both. Some schools require a resume, some accept one, and some won’t accept it. Have it ready regardless, so you’re not scrambling to assembly one among the many tasks to complete in October.
Louis Pasteur suggested, "Chance favors the prepared mind.” Getting ahead in this process alleviates the anxiety and creates a calm confidence that’s invaluable as students navigate the unknown of the admissions process. Admissions officers sense that confident sense of purpose radiating off applications built intentionally months before the deadlines come.