Your annual guide to the Common App essay

If you’re a rising senior, you’re probably looking ahead at the whole year and wondering where to begin with your college application. That’s okay – most people feel that way. Any college admissions package has a lot of different elements: test scores, GPAs, extracurriculars, and the list goes on. What ties this altogether is your Common App or Coalition essay. It’s almost like the wrap of a burrito. It brings all of your accomplishments together to create a picture of who you are, but it also enhances the taste, meaning the essay itself can and should showcase a side of you that is not made obvious from the other elements in your package.

This may all sound very abstract, so we’ve put together an annual calendar below to show you how to create that perfect burrito. Think of the annual guide almost like an advent calendar (definitely not as fun). It may look like a lot, but as the year progresses, we’ll take you through each step and unpack what you need to do every month. 

For January, the topics for 2023-2024 have yet to drop, but when they do come out, we’ll take a look at what changes, if any, have been made and what you need to do next. 

Stay tuned for more.