Common App colleges and their supplements?

Hey everyone, I'm a junior and starting the process of applying to colleges through the Common App. I know that some colleges have specific supplemental essays, but I'm a bit overwhelmed trying to keep track of them. Any advice on how to stay organized and manage all the different supplements for different schools?

Hi there! It's great that you're starting to think about your college applications and supplemental essays. Keeping track of the supplements for each college can indeed be overwhelming, but there are some strategies to help you stay organized.

First, create a spreadsheet listing all the colleges you're applying to via the Common App. Here's a possible outline for your spreadsheet:

- College name

- Application deadline (will vary from school to school, and also depend on if you're applying ED, EA, RD)

- Supplemental essay prompts

- Supplemental essay word counts

- Any other additional application requirements (e.g., extra letters of recommendation, specific sections in the Common App)

Be sure to fill in the information for each college as thoroughly as possible. This spreadsheet will serve as your central hub for tracking application requirements, deadlines, and other details.

Next, to manage your time efficiently, create a writing schedule. Break down each essay into smaller, manageable tasks, such as brainstorming, outlining, drafting, editing, and proofreading. Then, assign deadlines for each task. This approach will help you see the progress you're making and prevent procrastination.

As you work on your essays, keep a folder—either physical or digital—separate for each college. You'll want to store your essay drafts and brainstorming materials in an organized manner.

Additionally, make sure you carefully read the prompts and requirements for each school's supplements and tailor your essays accordingly. Although there may be some overlap in essay topics for different schools, it's important to customize your response for each college, as admissions officers will be able to tell if you're submitting a generic essay. If you're looking for guidance on a particular school's essays, remember that CollegeVine has a series of blog posts breaking down how to tackle a certain school's supplemental prompts - for example, this post gives you the information you need about the University of Michigan's prompts: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-write-the-university-of-michigan-essays.

Lastly, consider using a project management or to-do list tool, like Trello or Todoist, to help you prioritize tasks and visualize your progress.

Overall, staying organized and dedicated to your writing schedule will be essential to managing your college applications, including all your supplemental essays. Best of luck!