It's time to start your application for US Colleges!
Online applications to US colleges are now open, so if you have come to the end of Year 12 and intend to apply for entry in September 2018, you should now register at one of the application websites and put together as much of your application material as possible over the summer. If you intend to take a gap year, it is easier to apply this year, at the same time as other students, and then to defer entry for one year if you are offered a place.
The Common App is used by 702 institutions, including all the top research universities, so most applicants are likely to use this method.
The UCA currently only serves 24 colleges, but if all the colleges on your shortlist accept it, then it is worth checking it out to see if you prefer the UCA's interface.
The Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success, to give it its full name, was launched last year with the purpose of making the US college application system more accessible to students with modest means, particularly those whose high schools are unfamiliar with the application process. It currently has 121 colleges signed up, including all eight Ivy League schools, Stanford and the University of Chicago. It contains an online storage facility called the 'Coalition Locker' where students may store essays, artwork, videos, class projects, extracurricular activities, awards and letters of support, that can be used to support their future college applications wherever appropriate. Students in Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 may use the Locker to build up an application portfolio even if they will be applying via the Common App or UCA. Hence the Coalition may be used alongside other methods, as well as an application platform in its own right.
Harvard and a few other colleges will accept all three application types – however, many colleges only accept one or two of them, or in some cases have their own individual application forms. Therefore an important factor in your preparation is to find out which application methods are accepted by the colleges on your shortlist.
offers of admission to US colleges are not conditional on attaining specific grades or scores in your final A-Level or IB exams – but be warned! there is still an expectation that you will achieve grades roughly in line with those predicted, or your offer of admission may be withdrawn.
Most students find that the personal essay (equivalent to the UCAS Personal Statement) is the most challenging and time consuming part of the US college application process.
The essay topics that are being used this year by all three application platforms are given below. You will notice that all the topics prompt you to talk about yourself. This is a fundamental difference with the UCAS Personal Statement, which asks you to explain why you are well prepared to follow a particular course of study. But when you apply to a US college, it is not to study a specific subject, and for the first 18 months you will have the opportunity to explore many different topics before deciding on your 'major' (sometimes known as a 'concentration', or main area of study). So the purpose of the personal essay is to enable Admissions Officers to find out what you are like as a person: your ambitions, interests, opinions, achievements and challenges. Each of you is a unique individual with a unique story to tell, so you must produce an essay that no one else could write.
The suitability of the various essay topics to your particular story will be one of the factors that will help you decide which of the three application platforms to use. You should try to identify a prompt that will enable you to describe your unique qualities as an individual – something that will set you apart from other candidates. Then plan the structure of the essay and write several drafts. There is a plethora of online material to help you – simply type 'college admission essays' into your search engine.
In addition to the main essay topic, most colleges have supplements in which they require further short essays or memos. Check out what is required by all the colleges on your shortlist before you start writing, as different colleges sometimes ask similar supplementary questions, enabling you to adapt the same answers.
two are new titles, including a re-introduction of the 'topic of your choice' option.
The word limit is unchanged at 650 words.
If you live near London and want to speak to representatives from US colleges before deciding which ones to apply to, then come to the Fulbright Commission's USA College Day at the ILEC Conference Centre, 47 Lillie Road, London SW6 1UD on Friday 29th or Saturday 30th September. It is Britain's largest US college fair with over 150 exhibitors. USA College Day is free, but you must register in order to attend. Sign up here to be sent a reminder as soon as registration opens later this month.