Click here to explore thousands of successful college essay exemplars!
Are you applying to college in the US and need to use the Common Application (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 on the portal. This guide will highlight key tips on how to submit a compelling Common App essay and strengthen your overall application!
How To Submit A Common App Essay
General Overview
Since the Common App essay is embedded into the Common App portal, you can submit your Common App essay at the same time you submit the Common App itself.
You first need to create an account on the Common App portal. A detailed account setup guide can be found in this post here.
Once you have created your account, navigate to the tab titled "Common App". You should see a list of different sections on the left side such as "Profile", "Family", "Education", "Testing", "Writing", and "Courses and Grades".
Click on the section called "Writing". This is where you can either type your Common App essay into the box or upload a file containing your essay.
Fill in the other required sections of the Common App profile and submit your application. Your Common App essay will be submitted along with the rest of your application.
Things To Keep In Mind Before You Submit Your Essay
Word limit: Stick to the word limit of 250-650 words. Before you officially submit your essay, make drafts and edit them. Keep your first draft around 500 words to give you space to edit and incorporate any feedback in the final draft. Ensure you follow the formatting guidelines, as recommended in this post here.
Voice: Ensure the essay reflects your own voice in terms of the lived experiences and anecdotes used to support your narrative.
Avoid clichés: Check that you have not used any 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.
Stick to deadlines: Make sure you have submitted the Common App profile (including the essay) by the deadline to ensure all your target schools will receive and process your application.
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 flow smoothly between paragraphs and that the whole essay is cohesive. Start off strong with a good hook, and see this post for more information on how to write a strong hook. To learn how to structure an introduction and conclusion, check out these posts here and here.
We hope that this post has provided you with useful information on how to submit your Common App essay. Good luck with your college applications!
The Fast Track To Your
Best IB Coursework & College Essays
All content on this website has been developed independently from and is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization. International Baccalaureate and IB are registered trademarks owned by the International Baccalaureate Organization.