Great College Advice

Back in the “Old Days,” we had to fill out applications by hand. Now you can fill out your applications electronically and submit them online. You have several options for completing your applications.

Submit the college’s own online application

This is best if you are

• Applying to a single college (not a good idea!)
• Applying early decision to your top choice college (a great idea!)
• The college in question offers no other options

The Common Application

Most of the selective colleges in the United States subscribe to the Common Application, which allows you to create a single application that is submitted electronically to all the colleges on your list. This has been the most popular way for many students to apply to college in recent years, though now there are a few competitors in the field. You can reach the Common Application at www.commonapp.org.

The Universal College Application

This is a rival to the Common Application, and it is growing in popularity. It offers many of the same features as the Common Application. You can check out the UCA at www.universalcollegeapp.com.

CollegeZapps

This is a new company that provides access to nearly all college applications in the US in a single, online interface. You choose the schools to which you want to apply, then you complete a questionnaire, then all the fields in each of the applications is automatically populated for you. The result is that you have individual applications that look identical to the applications to each college. This is a sort of “mass-customization” approach. CollegeZapps charges $5 per application. At the moment, you cannot send your CollegeZapps applications electronically–you have to print them out and send them in by mail. Eventually, CollegeZapps may offer electronic submissions. Check them out at www.collegezapps.com.