Top Mistakes Students Make on the Common App
- May 5
- 2 min read
Filling out the Common App is stressful. Many students make simple mistakes that hurt their chances of getting into college. Here is a list of the most frequent errors and how you can avoid them.
Rushing the Form
Students often wait until the last minute to fill out their personal details. This leads to typos in important places. People misspell their own street addresses or get their social security numbers wrong. Check your legal name and contact info twice. Make sure they match your official school records.
Repeating Your Resume
The essay is your chance to show your personality. Many students waste it by listing their awards and clubs again. Admission officers already saw those in the activities section. Use the essay to tell a story that isn't anywhere else in the application. Talk about how you think or what you value.
Being Too Vague in Activities
You only have 150 characters to describe each club or job. Do not use that space to define what the club does. If you are the captain of the soccer team, do not write "played soccer and led practices." The reader knows what a captain does. Write about your specific impact. Mention how many people you led or a specific goal you reached.
Ignoring the Additional Information Section
There is a box at the end of the application for extra details. Many students leave it blank. You can use this to explain a dip in your grades or a gap in your school year. If a family move or an illness affected your performance, tell the colleges here. It provides context for your transcript.
Using a Generic "Why Us" Essay
Colleges often ask why you want to attend their school. Students frequently write broad statements about the "beautiful campus" or "great reputation." These answers work for almost any school. Be specific. Name a professor you want to study with or a specific club you plan to join. Show them you actually did your research.
Not Proofreading Out Loud
Spellcheck does not catch everything. It might miss a correctly spelled word used in the wrong way. Read your entire application out loud. You will hear awkward sentences and missing words that your eyes skipped over on the screen.
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