We’re just days after another Common App Day! It’s early August as I type out this post. Back to school is literally just right around the corner. If you’re a rising senior, you’ve probably already aware of Common App. It’s the most widely used college application platform – the place where you will likely be submitting several applications. So Common App is officially open. Now what?

In my line of work, in working with high school seniors, I’ve found a few things to be consistently true:

They know they have to submit college applications
They know there are specific college application deadlines
They know they want to submit applications materials that stand out (…because, selective college admissions, where even if you have tip-top grades and test scores, it isn’t necessarily a silver bullet to getting an acceptance)

Here’s what they typically don’t know by the time Common App Day rolls around:

The first step to take after opening my Common App account
They’ve never actually seen the inside of Common App before (don’t worry…. video demo coming soon!)
They don’t have a finalized college list
- And/or have too many colleges on their list
- And/or their college list is far from balanced
- And/or they don’t have an actual strategy of choosing colleges that centers student best-fit

Getting Started Recommendations

I sat down and thought through some quick tidbits of advice to share on how to get started now that Common App is open. If I were a high school senior beginning this process from scratch, this is how I would recommend organizing myself and ordering my Common App process from start to finish (in a quick 5 minute video format):