How to Know If Your Common App Essay Is Ready For Submission

Are you applying to college in the US and need to use the Common App portal? If so, you will need to write the Common App essay. You might be wondering what to keep in mind before submitting your Common App essay online. This guide will highlight some things to be mindful of when checking if your Common App essay is ready for submission so that you can ensure you submit a compelling essay!

How to Know If Your Common App Essay Is Ready For Submission

• Word limit: Ensure you stay within the word limit of 250-650 words. Before you officially submit your essay, write and edit multiple drafts. This will help you improve your essay over time and make it easier to pick out errors. Your first draft should be around 500 words to allow for editing and incorporating feedback given by your teachers/counsellors. Ensure you have followed the essay formatting guidelines as outlined in this post here. 

   

• Voice and tone: Ensure the essay reflects your own voice in terms of the examples and anecdotes used to support your narrative. Additionally, the Common App essay is a way for admissions officers to get to know you outside of academics, so it is recommended that your essay has a conversational, lighthearted tone rather than a formal or academic tone. 

   

• Avoid clichés: Check that you have avoided the use of clichés in your essay, as these can make your essay feel generic and won't help you stand out against the crowd. Examples of clichés to avoid can be found here, along with some ideas of how to come up with creative phrases to replace them.

   

• Clarity: Check that your essay is free from run-on sentences, fragments, and unnecessary jargon. Remove repetitive phrases and overly technical terms. Use a spellchecker to check for spelling and grammatical errors. 

   

• Structure: Make sure your essay has a clear structure with an introduction, body and conclusion. Check that ideas transition smoothly between paragraphs and that the entire essay is cohesive. Check that your essay has a good hook, and see this post here for more information on how to write a strong hook. Check if you meet all the requirements for structuring an introduction and conclusion as outlined in these posts here and here.

   

• Focus: Check that your essay is focused on the prompt and that you have answered all aspects of what the prompt is asking you. For example, if the prompt asks you to discuss a challenge you faced, how you overcame it, and what you learned in the process, make sure you address all these aspects instead of just discussing the challenge you faced. 

   

• Complete the rest of your application: Since your Common App essay is submitted as a part of your overall Common Application, you will only be able to submit your essay along with the other aspects of your application such as your personal information, activities list, recommendation letters, etc. Ensure that your entire application is complete and correct before you submit your essay.