August 1 is HERE, which means that it’s the day that most colleges and universities begin accepting applications for those applying for Fall 2021 admission. That said, just because the application opens on August 1, it doesn’t mean that students must submit their applications on that day. Here are some tips and pointers to help guide you as the application season officially begins:
1. There are several ways in which students can apply to their designated schools. Which application to submit depends on the individual school, but some application types are specifically designated to match certain schools.
A. Apply Texas -- Every Texas public college and university is required by Texas law to accept this application, and it’s especially geared towards students applying to the major public institutions (UT, A&M, Tech, UT-D, SFA, UNT, etc.). If you’re applying to at least one Texas public school, then you’ll want to create an application profile on Apply Texas. FYI, UT and A&M both require Essay Topic A from the Apply Texas options, and many of the other Texas schools have other requirements.
B. Common Application -- The “Common App,” (or ‘CA’) as it’s commonly known, is utilized primarily for private colleges and universities across the country; however, there is an increasing number of out-of-state public colleges that use CA (Ex: OU, Georgia, Clemson, Purdue) to drive application numbers. CA works much the same way that Apply Texas does for Texas schools: it simplifies the process of applying to multiple colleges and directs you to specific information from each individual institution as necessary. Many of the notable private schools in Texas accept the Common App, so it’s a good idea to use this platform for schools like SMU, TCU, and Rice. Common App also has an array of essay topic options, and a few of them are very similar to the ones on Apply Texas (overlap!).
C. Coalition Application -- an increasing number of colleges and universities accept the Coalition App (including some Texas public schools). Questions often arise from students who are applying to schools that accept both the Common App and Coalition App as to which application to use. FYI, most colleges will tell you that they don’t have a preference, but from experience, students AND college admission folks tend to prefer the interface and usability of Common App, and NOT Coalition. Keep the application reader in-mind when considering this factor: Common App is easier for them to read and decipher. Coalition is very well-intended and aims to break through various socio-economic barriers, but it’s not as friendly to use or read. When in-doubt, use Common App.
D. Proprietary Applications -- these are applications that are school or system-specific. These schools are typically outside of Texas and do not accept the Common App or Coalition App. For example, the University of California System has the UC Application, so if you’re applying to any of the UC system schools, the general UC application is where you’ll go to designate which of the UC schools you consider. As well, other schools, such as Baylor, Oklahoma State, and Arkansas have their own applications.
2. Know what information your designated schools will require to complete your application. Many colleges do not consider applications to be “complete” until they’ve received all required information such as transcripts, SAT/ACT (excluding test-optional), senior schedule, recommendation letters, essays/personal statements, and the application fees. Some schools, such as Texas A&M, require a Self-Reported Academic Record, or “SRAR” for short. They require you to input academic information on your own, and if you end up matriculating, they’ll require your official final transcript at the end of the school year.
3. Know your deadlines! August 1 is the opening of application season, but most schools designate certain deadlines by application type (Early Action vs. Early Decision, Regular, Rolling, etc.). See my May 2020 update under Application Deadlines for clarification of application types for reference.
4. Be thorough. When in doubt, the colleges would rather see an application from a student who pays attention to detail and submits thoughtful essays. Applications that are thrown together for the sake of submitting are not typically as impactful in comparison to the thorough ones. As well, be timely with transcript and SAT/ACT submissions and work to ensure that any required information is requested in a timely manner.
Application season is here, folks. The time for the rising senior to officially cross over into actual senior year begins, and know that I’m available to help you in whatever capacity is needed. Take care!