The amplifier., November 01, 2009, Page 4, Image 6

November
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Common application causes more harm than good
M ary W ood
For most high school
students, senior year is a
time of both anxiety and
excitement. With the joy of
graduation just around the
corner comes the burden of
applying to colleges. Filling
out the applications and
waiting to hear the results
can be highly stressful, but
the Common Application
has, in theory, provided a
solution: one application for
many different schools to
provide a more convenient
and more holistic way for
students to apply to college.
However, it comes with
major strings attached.
Although much of the
Common App process
is just what it claims, a
generic application between
the partner schools, some
schools have supplemental
applications in addition
to the main part of the
application. In fact, out of
the 391 schools that accept
the Common App, 237
require a supplement of
some sort.
Now this isn't to say
that having some part of
an application shared by a
variety of schools is a bad
idea. Most of the Common
App is an excellent
resource because it makes
the more tedious parts of
the application process
something that can be done
once. Then there is more
time for important things,
like essays. Who really
wants to fill out their name,
address, extracurriculars
and honors on every single
application? It certainly
becomes repetitive.
When you begin the
writing secton, though, is
when you encounter the
problem. The Common
App requires a short
Photo by Libby Kara
Connor Martin, senior, talks with Jamie Welle, College Center secretary, about the college application
process. Many colleges require the Common Application, which allows applicants to apply to many schools
using one application. Most of the Common App's partner colleges require additional supplements,
often including essays.
answer question about an
extracurricular activity
and a full-length essay on
your choice of a virtually
endless number of topics.
The supplements for the
schools also tend to contain
more writing prompts,.
ranging from short answers
to additional full-length
essays. Some of these
supplements aren't too
labor intensive, but others
require a lot more work.
For example, Stanford
University requires many
short answer questions as
well as three extra essays.
These requirements
seem a bit strange for an
application that deems itself
"common." With schools
like Stanford wanting so
many additional writing
samples, it makes me
wonder if they actually
place value on the main
essay for the Common App.
The best solution to
the problem seems to be
altering the application. It's
West Linn High School, 5464 West A Street, West Linn, OR 97068
(503) 673-7843 »fax: (503)657-8710
wlhs-amplifier@wlhs.wlwv.kl2.or.us
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Wished approximately every four weeks by the West
1 Advanced Journalism class. Opinions expressed in
itorials represent only those of the writer, and are
re opinions of West Linn High School, its administration,
faculty, staff, or student body.
Photo Editors: Mark Poppert,
Libby Kara
Staff Reporters: Elise Brown,
Nicole Campbell, Haley Cool,
Alex Houston, Chrisann Kim,
Jaimie Lorenzini, Ben Mann,
Daniel McGarry, Michael Mc-
Ninch, Marshall Miller, Emily
Reed, Julia Vanwinkle, Grace
Wall
Foreign Correspondent:
Marleigh Van Alderwerelt
Photographers: Ethan Brent,
Alex Houston, Ashley Shero
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» ill I t t i
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good to have some parts of
college apps be common,
but it might be easier if each
university could have their
own writing questions to
receive exactly what they
want from their applicants,
and the superfluous writing
section of the Common
App could be eliminated. It
would still be a lot of work,
but any extra work that can
be eliminated helps with
such a difficult process that
determines the futures of
thousands of students each
year. It's too late to save
this year's seniors from the
current Common App, but
if enough students were
to ask for a change, maybe
things could improve for
future classes.
Junk college mail reaches all-time
high, wastes time and resources
those students sit up and
take notice.
Second, the PSAT should
have a section for students
. If you just took the PSAT
to check which areas of the
for the first time, you have
country they are interested
no idea what you're in for.
in attending college. I
I'm talking about mail and
have at least 20 letters
e-mailS galore, because
from random colleges and
unless you checked the
universities on the East
tiny, little box saying you
Coast. I don't want to go
didn't want colleges to
any farther for college than
Washington or California.
I wouldn't even think
about going to Vermont!
Colleges should consider
what students are interested
in before they bombard
them with information they
don't want. They should
only continue to send -
information to students
who send back the card
requesting it.
In this day and age,
students are not only
receiving letters for
academics from the PSAT,
they are receiving letters
from colleges for athletics,
for theater programs
and numerous methods
of recruitment from the
military. And they are
Photo by Libby Kara receiving these letters
A WLHS junior’s shoebox overflows with college junk mail. The as early as freshman or
overwhelming amount of useless mail started appearing after the sophomore year! We
student took the PSAT for the first time.
, shouldn't have to start
thinking about college
contact you, you will have
colleges consider how
at 14! If you aren't old
a stack that fills at least
much paper they are
enough to drive, you aren't
two shoe boxes by the end
wasting by sending out
old enough to be thinking
of this year. If you scored
masses of form letters every
about college.
exceptionally high, those
day? And many of these
Colleges and
might be two boot boxes.
colleges claim to be very
universities need to back
Or, if you scored on the
green and environmentally
off and narrow down their
lower side, they might be
friendly. I love the irony.
searches, because my closet
sandal boxes.
Maybe instead of sending
is getting full. After this
prospective students paper
I'll never forget last year
year's PSAT I went shoe
informing them of how
when, a few months after I
shopping in preparation...
green they are, they should
took the PSAT, mail started
that empty box is just sitting
do something for the
arriving from colleges in
by the mail slot, waiting.
environment that makes
my name. For a while,
J ennifer S itton
there were four or five a
day! Most of them were
from obscure, East Coast
colleges I'd never even
heard of and would never
think about attending.
These letters were exciting
at first, but after receiving
so many, they just became
a bother.
First of all, do these