Electronic Applications Gear-up for 2012-13

To contact us Click HERE

Johns Hopkins University

Both the Common Applicationand the UniversalCollege Application (UCA) will be going off line during the summer for thepurpose of clearing the boards and retooling. And both will be back in actionjust in time for the official start of the 2012-13 college application season.

On Friday, July 13, at 11:59 pm Eastern Time, the 2011-12 Common Applicationwill be closing for maintenance. At that point, all current application accountswill be deleted in preparation for the August 1, 2012 launch. Students will notbe able to save information already entered, but they are welcome to downloadand print out a .pdf version of the application using the “preview” function.

Students applying to Common App member schools with rolling deadlines ordeadlines after July 13 may still use the paper version and submit via regularmail.

The UCA will temporarily go off line on Monday, June 25th.  The 2012-13 version will be available on July1^st.  Note that although therewill be no changes to the UCA forms, the Early Decision Agreement can now be completedand submitted online.

Students wishing to use the UCA to apply to any of several colleges stillaccepting applications for fall of 2012 should use the “Print Preview” functionto print out the form before June 25 with the information they have entered,then complete the missing fields by hand, and mail the paper version to thecollege.

Now is the time to get familiar with both electronic application forms byvisiting their respective websites. Make note of which colleges use which formand determine where there may be some overlap on your college list. Locally, Johns Hopkins University, Notre Dame of Maryland University, St. Mary's College of Maryland,and Towson University accept bothforms.  Other colleges using both theCommon App and the UCA include Duke, Harvard, Wake Forest, and WashingtonUniversity in St. Louis.Although the Common App and theUCA ask similar questions, there are subtle differences. For example, the UCAis less directive than the Common App with regard to the personal statement,and the language around “disciplinary history” is slightly less threatening.The Common App, however, gives applicants more opportunity to provideinformation concerning proficiency in multiple foreign languages and allowscolleges to ask probing questions around "future plans" if they choose.

The biggestdifference between the two online forms, however, remains the availabilityof UCA’s multimedia link, which is located within the formand not in a supplement. Students using the UCA may easily link to onlinecontent without sending application readers scurrying around for CD’s, DVD’s,or portfolios. And that's a good thing!For the record, you choose tosubmit one form or the other—not both!  Andkeep in mind many schools use their own electronic forms or forms developedspecifically for use by state schools such as those in use for California andTexas.

Although application supplements will not be available from either the CommonApplication or the UCA until the official launch dates, some colleges havebegun the process of posting 2012-13essay questions on their websites. Students wanting to get a head start onthose essays can search websites or contact colleges directly. And keep in mindthat the main Common App and UCA essay prompts are not changing for next year.