The Ultimate Guide to the Common App

Name: The Ultimate Guide to the Common App
Rating: 4.9 (11 reviews)

Get practical tips and exclusive access to example essays from a current Harvard undergrad.

Highest Rated

Created byAndrew Yun

Last updated 8/2020

English

What you'll learn

Exclusive access to a current Harvard student's admission essays, paragraph answers, and extracurricular details.
A comprehensive overview of the Common App, its structure and purpose.
Straightforward answers to frequently asked questions by applicants.
A ranked list of the most important aspects of a successful Common App.
How to craft an application strategy that maximizes the chance of acceptance at top-tier US colleges.
Detailed know-hows of how to ask for recommendation letters from teachers.
Step-by-step walkthrough of the Common Application through screencast.
Specific tips on writing focused and impactful college admissions essays and personal statements.

Course content

8 sections • 52 lectures • 3h 20m total length

Introduction to the Course1:49
Understand the learning objectives of this course.
Connect with Andrew and hear about his background and experience with the Common App process.
Be excited!
A Welcome Note to Students1:08
A formal welcome from Andrew
Note about the overall structure of the course
Andrew's contact info

What is the Common App?2:13
A basic overview of the Common App, its purpose and functionality.
Which universities use the Common App?0:15
Access to useful links about which colleges accept applications from Common App, Coalition App, and the Universal College App.
Should I apply to a US college/university?6:52
Key factors to consider when deciding to apply to US universities
How many applications should I send?4:44
Discussion on how many applications each student should prepare
Balancing the applications to reach, fair chance and safety schools
Which universities should I apply to?5:42
Factors to consider when deciding which universities to send apps
Discussion includes academic reputation, available resources, financial aid, sports programs, etc.
Creating a preliminary list of colleges.1:49
Step-by-step instructions to create your first-draft list of colleges to apply to
What does a typical timeline look like?6:58
Timeline of high school students, and what should be the focus for each grade level.
Start filling out the common app the summer after grade 11, and submit it by the end of first semester grade 12.
Two IMPORTANT DATES!1:16
Regular and Early Action / Early Decision deadlines to remember and mark on your calendars.
What are Early Action and Early Decision?2:22
An explanation of what Early Action and Early Decision mean, and how they differ.
Pros/Cons of Early Action and Early Decision.4:35
What are the main pros and cons of applying EA or ED?
Example: Andrew's Application Timeline3:15
Detailed breakdown of what Andrew did in each of his high school years to contribute to the Common App.
Top 5 most important components of the Common App4:19
The golden question: Which parts of my application are the most important? Here is Andrew's personal ranked list of the top 5 most important aspects of the Common App.

Common App structure3:26
An overview of the Common App's overall structure, including the generic portion and the supplementary sections.
A plan of action as to how you can start filling out the application.
Crafting your application strategy2:41
The two most important things to know about in order to create your application strategy.
Exercise: Application Strategy1:10
Arrive at the central themes of your application strategy by reflecting about who you are, and what you want to convey through the application.

A note about this section of the course0:27
A quick clarification about personal information used in the example application featured in the next few videos.
Creating an account & Overview5:27
How to create an account with Common App
Navigate through the user interface of the newly designed common app site
Part 1. Profile section9:51
Filling out the first tab under the Common App - the profile section.
Part 2. Family section6:47
Filling in family information for the Common App
Discussion of why family information may matter to admissions officers
One additional note about the family info0:28
UPDATED: another key reason why family information may be important in your application.
Part 3: Education section14:03
Filling out the education section of the application, and highlighting the most important portions of this section.
IMPORTANT: Honors section5:21
Tips about how to fill out the honors section in order to differentiate yourself from other applicants.
Example: Andrew's Honors List0:36
Recap of the main lessons in the previous video on the Honors section.
Andrew's actual Honors list used in his Common App section is provided as an example.
Part 4. Testing section5:16
How to fill out the Testing section of the app, including standardized tests and advanced course tests.
IMPORTANT: Activities section7:27
5 concrete tips about how to fill out the activities section strategically.
Example: Andrew's Activities List0:40
Recap of the take-aways from the previous video on the Activities section.
Andrew's actual Activities list provided as a point of reference.
Part 5. Writing section7:15
What to write in the additional information section
Quick overview of the essay and disciplinary information sections
Part 6. Courses & Grades section3:35
(If applicable) How to fill out the Courses & Grades section of the application

Picking the right topic7:06
Advice about picking the right topic for your Common App essay
Should you first pick a prompt?0:36
Should you pick a prompt for your essay, or write the essay first and match it with one of the prompts?
Should you read other people's essays?3:29
Answering the FAQ: should I be reading other people's essays to gain inspiration?
Breaking down the writing process8:55
Step-by-step guide for crafting and perfecting your Common App essay
Example: Andrew's Common App Essay0:30
Andrew's actual Common App essay provided as an example.

Supplementary Questions17:08
Going through an example of the Questions section of the supplementary section
What the heck is FERPA?6:31
Releasing the FERPA authorization
Going through the recommendations page of the supplementary section
Writing your main supplementary essay6:37
Tips about writing the supplementary essay to best complement your common app.
Example: Andrew's main supplementary essay0:30
Recap of the supplementary essay tips.
Andrew's main supplementary essay provided as an example.
Paragraph and short answers7:39
Tips about writing the paragraph and short answers in the supplementary sections.
Example: Andrew's paragraph answers0:26
7 examples of paragraph answers, which were all actually used by Andrew in his Common App.
Example: Andrew's short answers0:11
Andrew's short answer responses to Stanford, Yale and Princeton provided as examples.

The recommendation letter timeline4:06
When should you approach teachers and counsellors about the recommendation letters?
Who should I ask for recommendations?3:38
A 4-point criteria to consider when deciding which teachers you want to approach for the recommendations.
What information should I give them?2:07
Key information to provide to teachers so that they are equipped to write you the best letter possible.
The school counsellor3:51
What role does the school counsellor play in the Common App process, and how do they matter in your application success?
Example: Andrew's Recommendation Letter Package0:22
Andrew's own Teacher Recommendation Letter package that each student should prepare and give to each of their recommenders.

Review your entire application2:04
Going through the entire application and meticulously checking for mistakes, blanks and other errors.
IMPORTANT: The Application Checklist0:48
A helpful checklist to keep in mind in order to make sure that nothing is missing from your application.
Gentle reminders about missing info0:24
What if a recommendation letter or a form from a school counsellor is missing?
Press submit! You are done!1:15
Press the button! Finally!
Wrap-Up and thank you0:47
A word of gratitude and appreciation to all of my students enrolled in this course.

Requirements

None

Description

Don't spend $10,000+ for college application consultants and counsellors, when the most reliable and practical resource for help is a current student who has recently gone through the process himself.

The Ultimate Guide to the Common App is the most up-to-date and practical course on Common App preparation available on Udemy. Taught by a current Harvard student who was also accepted to Stanford and Princeton, this course is your one-stop-shop to answer all your questions and worries about filling out the Common App. It goes over everything from the big-picture timeline of the process, all the way to how you can ask for teacher recommendations and what to focus on when writing your Common App essay. The course includes concrete examples, like a sample common app essay and sample paragraph answers, which exemplify the tips given by the video walk-throughs.

And if there is something missing, just let Andrew know through email! Andrew will reply to emails about course inquiries within 72 hours, and will incorporate all constructive feedback as he continues to update the course. Current students: watch out for a new set of videos dealing with commonly asked questions from enrolled students.

Welcome to this course, and thank you for enrolling! Best of luck on your road to your dream college/university!

[Preview video music from Bensound]

Who this course is for:

Parents of high school students looking to apply to US colleges/universities.
Teachers advising students on university options
Application advisors looking to improve important parts of their application, such as the essay and the activities sections.
Anyone who is confused about the application process, and looking for a comprehensive, easy-to-follow guide.

The Ultimate Guide to the Common App

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction2 lectures • 3min

Big-Picture Questions12 lectures • 44min

Before Starting3 lectures • 7min

Filling out the Common App13 lectures • 1hr 7min

The Common App Essay5 lectures • 21min

Supplementary Section7 lectures • 39min

Recommendation Letters5 lectures • 14min

Finalizing the Application5 lectures • 5min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: