The folks at the Common App held a free webinar for counselors yesterday: “What’s New With The Common App: Enhancements.” If you didn’t get a chance to attend, our counselor Tom Barry shared the following summary for our Collegewise counselors.
You won’t need to find your way around a brand new Common App with your students this year. In fact, the key changes are mostly minor and will not affect all applicants.
1. Students can now self-report courses and grades within the Common App tab.
There aren’t many colleges on the Common App that ask students to self-report their courses and grades, but for those that do, the Common App now offers them a place to do so.
2. Students can upload Google Drive text files directly into the “Essay” boxes.
This won’t replace the option to copy and paste. But one potential benefit is that uploading a document could help a student avoid those pesky formatting challenges that seemed to pop up so often.
3. The “Activities” dropdown menu will now include “Internship” and “Social Justice” categories.
4. Students can select up to three advisors who will be granted access to their account in order to evaluate progress.
This number is in addition to the formal school counselor and the teacher(s) submitting letters of recommendation.
We’ll also be releasing our updated annual Collegewise Common App guide around July 15. When it’s ready, I’ll share it here.