Common Application Changes

The Common Application will undergo some changes for next year’s batch of applicants.

There will be some Common Application changes next year, it was announced by representatives of The Common Application at the NACAC conference in Denver, Colorado. NACAC is the National Association for College Admission Counseling, an organization to which the Founder of Ivy Coach is a member. The changes to The Common App will not impact the current batch of high school seniors but will instead impact next year’s class of high school seniors.

So what are the changes? Well, The Common Application is doing away with the essay prompt that is on “a topic of your choice.” Many college admissions counselors, high school guidance counselors, and private college counselors were surprised by this announcement. In place of the “topic of your choice” prompt, students will be offered four to five essay options from which to choose. These essay options will change from year to year.

And in addition to a change in essay prompts, word limits in the now strictly online Common Application will be enforced with error messages. If you write 501 words on the essay with a 500 word limit, you will be met with an error message. You’ll have to delete a word if you hope to successfully submit your college application. It’s that simple.

What do you think of these Common Application changes? Do you think they’re drastic? Do you think they’re inconsequential? Will this impact what you write in your college essays? Maybe just a little? Let us know your thoughts on the matter by posting below!