Response to Kathleen: Common App and stickers?

Posted by Dee

Kathleen left a very sweet comment on our latest AdmitSpit post titled, “Just got a comment…” saying:

“… I recently visited a college, and they gave me a sample of the 2006-2007 common application. On this application was a sticker saying “application fee waived”. The problem is, the application is for the 2006-2007 season, and I won’t be applying until this fall. Should I remove the sticker from the common application papers? Also, does the common application require fees to send online?”

I think Kathleen that the whole point was indeed to give you a “sample” of the Common App so you could get the gist of the types of questions they give in essays and short answers, etc. I don’t think that they necessarily actually wanted you to use that 2006-2007 form to apply for the 2007-2008 year. So no, you shouldn’t remove the sticker from the common application papers because you shouldn’t actually use those papers at all (and if you’re thinking of reattaching the sticker to the correct version of the Common App papers, I say that’s just a bad idea!)

The Common App does require fees — but those are simply the fees that the

The DBQ: 11 Steps to Success

Posted by Michael

Here are 11 tips that I used to ace the document-based question (DBQ) essay part of the AP US History exam.

1. Use the reading period to its full extent.
And, if you’re not done planning, spend an extra five minutes or so doing so. Planning helps to write a better (maybe shorter) essay as opposed to a longer and badly written one. Readers only have such little time to read each essay, and after reading thousands each day, they’ll look for the most clearly and well thought out to grade higher, and will frown down upon super long, unorganized essays.

2. (ⁿ/₂) + 1.
This is the golden rule in terms of how many documents to use (n = number of docs). It is not important to use all the documents, just use half of them given, plus

What’s lost when Stanford uses the Common App

Posted by Aaron

Ever since I had heard the news that Stanford will be accepting the Common App next year, I have had mixed feelings about it. 

It is easier to fill out only one Form 1 (since they all ask exactly the same thing), but with the Common App, there are enough supplemental forms that you, almost, might as well apply to each school individually. But for those who apply to 18+ schools (and if you can, more power to you), I can see how it is helpful. But I feel there is something to be said about individual applications.

What bums me out most about Stanford’s transfer to the Common App is the possibility of them losing their more unique essay and short answer topics because there already are generic short answers and essays on the

Response to Mimi

Posted by DeeMimi commented on the post titled, “I was deferred; now what?!” Here’s what she wrote:

“I was deferred from my early school in December. I’ve now finished my RD applications and realized that my new essays are infinitely better than the ones I sent in early. Can I now send in my new essays to replace the ones I sent in a while ago? The RD deadline for this school has passed, however.“

It’s great that you turned in more perfected essays this time around, but I’m sorry to say that I would defnitely not recommend sending in your new essays.

But, before I get ahead of myself… What exactly did the letter from the school say? Do they want or encourage you to send in new or supplementary material? Is there

Response to Edie

Posted by Dee

So, it may seem as though December was a month of abandonment for our dear AdmitSpit site, but I assure you it is temporary! Vacation’s over for us, so it’s back to responding to questions and dishing out college admissions talk as usual.

Edie commented recently on the post titled, “National Merit Semifinalist essay,” the following:

“I took the PSAT in early October and found out this week (January 4th) that I am a semifinalist. I have two concerns.

1) When I got my PSAT scores from my guidance counselor, he said that there was a possibility that I might have to take the SAT as part of the process. I got a 2310 on the real SAT in December (with which I was satisfied) and, quite honestly, I don’t want to take it again. Since I took it two months after the PSAT, do you think I will have to take it again?
2.) My GPA is around a 3.6/3.7 on an unweighted scale of 4.0. I took really challenging classes, but do you think this will eliminate me?”

So, response to question one is 2310 is a fine score and I don’t know what your guidance counselor is talking about because no, you shouldn’t have to retake the

Response to Ralph on applying from Canada

Posted by Dee

Ralph commented on the post titled, “Response to Stephanie and stressed applicant on changing UC apps.”

He said:

“Hi there. My question is on how big a factor test results, nationality and race are in the American admissions process.
I just took the SAT subject tests for the first time last Saterday. I think I got about 700 on the math 1, 650 on the level 2, and no idea on the chemistry, but it’s probabaly in the 500’s. How will the top schools see this, and how much difference would the fact that I’m a Canadian Indian (which legally means I’m also an American Indian) make?
Otherwise, I have a 90% grade average, and scored 88% and 85% on the two Alberta Diploma standardized tests (chem. and pure math) I’ve taken about 8 months ago. I paticipate in a volunteer organization and student government, and I’m sure I could get good teacher references and essays done.
The big question I have is: Would it be worth it to make a 10 hour drive this Saterday to the nearest ACT test center (I haven’t taken it or the SAT before) or should I just forget it? Thanks for your time.”

Here’s what I’d say:

Ralph–

I think it will help tremendously that you are an American Indian! All the US private schools love to up their diversity statistics and American Indians are very well

Response to Elizabeth

Posted by Dee

AdmitSpit received a comment regarding the UC application from Elizabeth today on the post titled, “Techniques for dealing with character limits.”

I’ll reproduce the comment below:

“Hi I just submitted my uc application yesterday and realized that I went over the word count limit by 35 words. What can I do? Will the college just cut off my essay or should I mail each campus a letter?”

Elizabeth,

I think you needn’t worry about 35 words. The reason I emphasize “think” is because I haven’t seen a print out of your application. I sure hope you, along with every other UC applicant, took the time to print out a copy of your entire application. If so, you could go to the personal statement section and see if it did indeed cut off part of your essay. If it did not you’re probably okay.

The second reason I emphasize “think” is because I hope that this 35 word surplus was not on one response alone, rather that you went maybe 10 words over on one essay and 16 over on another and over by 9 on another; this would be the best scenario as opposed to going 35 words over on one response alone which will be

Those ‘potential to contribute’ essays

Posted by Dee

The UC application always has a “Potential to Contribute” essay as do many other colleges, and it’s often difficult to come up with ideas of what to write about; after all, you’re going to school to learn, not to teach.

But, that said, every college or university looks at its students not only as people coming to class to learn, but as investments who will one day, in some way, give back to the university. So, here are some ways I’ve thought of that you can “contribute.” Not all of these will be applicable to everyone; feel free to use these as inspiration for your own essays and be sure that when you write your essay is not generic, but rather it shows who you are.

- Diversity. Plenty of schools are interested in upping their diversity-factor. Maybe this is how you could contribute to the university, by increasing their community’s diversity. Keep in mind that this need not be racial or gender or ethnic diversity, but that diversity can come in many forms; maybe you’re an art-lover in a school that has few or a recreational athlete in a community that is not too sports-enthusiastic. And then the whole purpose of your essay can show how you will “contribute” by

Little vacation for the T-day holiday

Posted by Dee

Hey AdmitSpit readers!

Sorry we haven’t been writing in awhile; all the contributors have been back at home from college spending time with family and friends, with little motivation to get to the computer to write.

But, starting Monday, look forward to a post about Princeton academics, some posts with our personal tips and suggestions for UC personal statement essays, and our personal tips and suggestions for writing short answer responses.

Also, do let us know for what other schools you’d like academic snapshots from. I’m working on getting someone from USC to write for us, as well as someone from Columbia. What other schools are important for you to hear about? Leave a comment!

Response to Gail

Posted by Dee

Gail recently left AdmitSpit an urgent comment on our “About AdmitSpit” page. I’ll reproduce it below.

“Help – my son decided to add one sentence to his essay after he copied it into his application form and submitted it with a TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR! What do we do? Will his application automatically be dropped!”

I hope I’m correct as interpreting this as: your son finished his essay, copy-pasted it into the text box in his online application, then decided to add a sentence directly into the text box, submitted the application and then realized that it had a typo! Ouch.

Gail? What was he thinking?! I feel terrible using your son’s error as an example, but this shows to all of us the danger of typing essays, even one sentence’s worth, directly in the text box of an online application! Always, always, write your essays, even one sentence’s worth, in a Word processor first! Then, copy-paste it.

Yes, your son made a dumb mistake; I’m afraid it’s difficult for me to soften the blow. But, that said, it’s not the end of the world. You’ll probably be rather upset and worried over it, but it will probably have little bearing on an overall application decision. I’m slightly concerned over the last phrase in your comment: “Will his