Is it possible to modify your Common App essay in accordance with different schools? After spending countless hours developing a compelling story, you’re left wondering whether an essay that values leadership, creativity, and resilience all at once is the best approach in a world where each school seems to cherish unique qualities.
You should have known by now that the Common App essay carries a great weight of importance in the application process. It is your opportunity to market your personality, experiences and writing skills in comparison to test scores and transcript. However, if you are applying to an array of schools, you might have to polish your essay to suit their needs.
Therefore, the question of whether your Common App essay can be altered for different schools can be answered in two ways. Yes you can, but it comes with certain rules and restrictions. In this article, we will explain what parts of the essay you are allowed to change and offers some great tips on how to customize your essay.
Understanding the Common App Essay
The Common Application (Common App) is an online system that allows students to submit applications for several colleges and universities at once. One of its features is the Common App essay (or personal statement) which has a word count of 650 words. To complete the essay, students are required to select one of the prompts given by the Common App.
As opposed to supplemental essays that concentrate on explaining reasons that make you want to attend a specific school, the Common App essay allows students to share their stories in a manner that is applicable to multiple schools.
It's an opportunity for you to present yourself on a personal level beyond just the grades, test results, and activities that you have participated in. With the essay, admissions officers hope to understand the applicant’s personality, values, dreams, and experiences. A well written essay will show the college how you think, what is important to you and how you will add value to their campus.
Since the Common App essay is sent to different schools, it is vital to tell an authentic, polished story that is both compelling and true to yourself. This is the way you need to separate yourself from the thousands of applicants – not by listing achievements but by telling a narrated anecdote that highlights your essence profoundly.
How the Common App Essay Submission Works
With the Common App, you can use the platform to upload the essay separately. The submission and the way the essay is incorporated into the application is rather self explanatory, albeit, the details make the process delicate:
Editing and Writing: Writing and editing can be done within the app’s dashboard, or you can draft the essay external to the app and paste it in. Keep in mind that the word count is limited to 650 words, so tailor your essay accordingly.
Submitting the Essay to Your Colleges: After completion, when you stream the app to the college of your choosing, that particular version of your essay is saved in the platform, permanently. This means there are not possibilities of changes or rewrites once the app has been submitted.
Preparing For Future Edits: An essay after submission cannot be modified for other colleges, however, it can before other colleges. This gives you room to make changes or add modifications if needed.
Completing Each Submission: Since the Common App makes it impossible to make changes after submission to a particular school, it makes it even more important for you to read through the essay and polish it completely.
Look for any spelling mistakes or grammar errors, awkward sentences, or weak formatting that might hurt your application. Ask a teacher, mentor, or take professional help for Common App Essays for additional input.
Why This Matters
Your Common App essay is central to your application, it is important to compose it in an engaging and structured manner. Although the ability of customizing your essay for different schools can be beneficial, it also means you need to be thoughtful in how you tackle revisions. After you click “send”, you won’t be able to make changes for that college, so take your time to review your work. The better your Common App essay, the more likely it is to leave a positive impression on the admissions officers. It is your chance to show them who you are beyond the figures.
Can You Change Your Common App Essay for Different Schools?
If you're applying to a few colleges at the same time, you may be wondering if you can modify your Common App essay to showcase varied sides of your personality or experiences. The short answer is yes, but there are some strict guidelines and restrictions that you must keep in mind. While you are allowed to edit your essay for each submission, the version that you submit for each school is final once you submit the application. Unfortunately, you cannot make any more edits to that school’s application. However, the Common App does allow you to create up to three different versions of your personal statement so that you can at least customize your story a bit.
Let’s break down how and when you can edit your essay to make the most of your applications.
The Short Answer: Yes, But with Limitations
The good news is that you can modify your Common App essay for different schools. As great as that may sound, you should also remember that there are some strict limitations that must be followed:
- You are allowed to change and modify your essay as many times as you want to before sending it to any school.
- The moment you send out an application to a school, that version of the essay is now permanently locked in for that institution.
- It is possible for you to make revisions for future submissions, however, colleges that have already received your application will not see the updated version so no further changes can be made.
When and How You Can Edit Your Essay
If you have yet to submit any college applications then feel free to make any changes and edits to your essay. This serves as the most advantageous period to fine-tune, edit, and smoothen your personal statement prior to submission at any college. Ensure that you proofread and seek feedback to make certain that your essay tells your story in an impeccable and strong manner.
Once you submit your application to a certain school, that copy of your essay is set in stone for that specific institution. You will be able to edit your essay for future applications, however, those edits will only be seen by schools you have yet to apply to in the system.
Should You Change Your Common App Essay for Different Schools?
Having understood that the Common App enables modification of your personal statement for different institutions, the next big consideration is: should you? It may look reasonable to make each college essay different but sometimes doing so does more harm than good to the overall narrative. An authentic essay typically does just fine for multiple applications but sometimes it does help the narrative to modify the essay as well. The challenge is when to edit and when to remain loyal to the initial version.
When It Makes Sense to Edit Your Essay
In these particular scenarios, changing your writing could greatly improve your application and make it suit the schools you are targeting the most:
- Your essay received comments, and you see that it can be improved. If a teacher, counselor, or mentor is willing to offer major changes and rewrite portions of your story, then it is time to start editing and submitting to more colleges. Constructive feedback is given for a reason: to help clarify your message and make your essay as good as it can be.
- Different colleges care about different things. Colleges and universities tend to have different primary academic areas, as well as distinctive cultures and values that come with them. An essay that demonstrates problem solving, analytical, and innovative skills will be appreciated by a STEM-focused school. On the other hand, a liberal arts college might prefer to see evidence of creativity, intellectual curiosity, and interdisciplinary learning. Having various sides of the same story means that you can alter your focus and make your story appropriate for every institution.
- You aim to outline contrasting sides of your character or life experiences. If there are several meaningful angles to your story, it may be useful to develop a second and even a third version of your essay. Take, for example, the case of one version of your essay focusing on your leadership in a certain community project while another version emphasizes your personal struggle and how you overcame it. By sending each school the version that is most pertinent, the application can be made more competitive.
When You Should Stick to One Essay
While it is possible to edit your Common App essay for various apps, there are times when it is best to leave it in its original form:
- Your essay is already strong and well edited. If your personal statement is already powerful, well structured, and speaks to you, it is advisable that you do not try to fix what isn’t broken. Drilling deeper into a subject a writer has already mastered can occasionally yield unsatisfactory results.
- Revising too much can lead to a loss of authenticity. Trying to revise an essay so that it answers the different schools' values might make your writing forced or disjointed. Admissions officers would rather listen to a story than a perfectly sculpted answer. The answer should define the person you are, instead of who you think the school wants you to be.
- Certain institutions put a greater emphasis on supplemental essays. Many colleges will try to gauge your fit for their institution with their supplemental essay prompts as opposed to the main Common App essay. In cases where your personal statement is strong, it is more favorable to focus on customizing supplemental essays than it is to rewrite a primary essay for each school.
Best Practices for Tailoring Your Common App Essay
If you wish to alter your Common App essay depending on the institution, you will need to do so strategically. Instead of making drastic alterations, the better approach would be to change important details while keeping the authentic core message intact. A well-tailored essay should reflect a refined approach rather than feel forced. To help you avoid negatively impacting your application and instead enhance it, here are some tips.
1. Strengthen the Core Message Instead of Overhauling
Instead of writing a completely new essay for each school, think about making smaller, yet impactful changes that adjust different parts of your story. You can achieve this by tailoring your essay for different audiences while keeping it real.
For instance, if the main theme of the essay is effort in overcoming a challenge
- A S.T.E.M school may focus more on how you solved problems, your analytical skills, and if you are resilient in a technical setting.
- A liberal arts college would appreciate your S.I.T.E. school by your introspection, personal growth, and how you critique your experiences.
These simple little adjustments: emphasizing on different skills or experiences, can greatly make your essay relatable to the specific schools without changing its feel.
2. Ensure Each Version Is Well-Polished
Ensure to not introduce changes that offer no value when revising your essay. Your submission must be free of errors and inconsistencies throughout just like any other original document.
For your content to be clear and precise:
- Phrase and Intention: The revised version must be read out loud to identify weirdly phrased sentences and potential errors.
- Consistency: Have a version of the essay reviewed by a language teacher or a close friend to make sure that there are no grammar mistakes left uncorrected in the essay.
- Identity: Ensure that the identity –the aspects that made your essay appealing – are cared for so deeply that it loses personality to be regarded as identity based editing.
Even with minimal changes, it is still vital to the overall construction of the essay to proofread as deeply as needed and make sure that the version is left with no flows or else it is not valuable.
3. Use Supplemental Essays for Customization
Rather than changing a major element in your essay such as a common app essay, make use of the supplemental essays provided by specific colleges. Some common ones include:
- “Why Us?” where students get to answer why they would like to attend a particular school or college.
- Major areas where a student discusses his or her interest in the academic field in relation to the institutions.
These added components allow you to tailor your application without needing to edit the personal statement. Focus on modifying your supplemental essays instead of rewriting your primary essay for other schools if your primary essay is already well-written.
Common Questions About Editing the Common App Essay
Most students have many doubts regarding modification of their Common App essay after the submission of applications. Here are a few answers to the most common questions.
Can I Resubmit My Common App Essay to a School I Already Applied To?
No. Once you apply to a certain school, that version of your essay is locked. Colleges do not accept edits or offer resubmissions afterwards.
What if I realize a mistake?
- If your admissions essay has a minor typo, don’t panic. Admissions officers are trained to understand that people make small mistakes.
- In the case of a more substantial issue such as sending the incorrect version of an essay, you should contact the admissions office of the school. They will likely not allow a resubmission, but some schools will allow you to clarify important details through an additional statement.
Can I Make Small Edits (Grammar, Phrasing) After Submitting to Some Schools?
Absolutely! It is possible to revise the essays for some schools, however, the ones that have received your application will not see any changes or updates.
- If you find grammar errors, bad phrasing or sentences that can be improved, you can change your essay prior to sending it to the next school.
- This is why proof reading prior to submitting your application is very important.
Does Editing the Common App Essay Affect Application Processing?
That’s Incorrect; colleges will only have access to the version of your essay they submitted to their systems.
- Making edits after submission to one school will have no impact on the processing of the applications you already submitted.
- You can further modify the essay for later submissions and not concern yourself with any hold-up.
In case you have any doubts regarding editing your essay, keep this in mind: quality is better than quantity. Thoughtful revisions will enhance your application and constant changes are not always the answer.
Conclusion: Make Smart, Strategic Edits
It is possible to modify your Common App essay for different schools, although a bit of strategy is required. Avoid excessive edits and instead make changes that improve clarity, strengthen your message, and align more closely with the school’s values. After modifying any version, get feedback from teachers, mentors, or peers, and double-check for any grammar mistakes or awkward phrasing. Remember, each version of your essay should represent the best version of yourself. Your story matters, so make sure that your essay is compelling, authentic, and represents who you want to be. You’ve got this!
