Navigating the education section of the Common App can be daunting. Your educational record is one of the first things that college admissions officers will look at, so it’s important to get it right. However, the education section of the Common App is not just about accurately reporting your courses, grades, and achievements; it’s also about effectively showcasing your academic growth and highlighting your strengths. Whether you’re a high school student or a transfer applicant, this article will offer valuable insights into how to make the education section of the Common App shine–maximizing your chances of getting noticed by top colleges and universities.
What is the Common Application?
Before we dive into the education section, we need to understand a bit more about the Common Application. The Common Application, or the Common App, is an application used by many colleges and universities in the US. Unifying all of these applications into a single platform simplifies the application process, allowing students to apply to several schools with one application. The Common App includes 5 sections: personal information, the education section, standardized test scores, activities, and an essay. Today, we’re zeroing in on education.
The education section requires students to provide information about their high school academic courses and performance. This section is one of the most crucial parts of the application, as it directly reflects your academic performance. From your class rank to the courses you took to the grades you earned, this information gives colleges a detailed look into your high school career and how it reflects your ability to succeed in college. .
How to Navigate the Education Section of Your Application
After four years of high school, navigating the education section of your application can be difficult. After all, there’s a lot of information to sort through, and you will need to enter it by hand before it gets copied to all of the colleges who accept the Common App. We’ve broken it down for you, step-by-step.
Before You Begin Filling Out Your Application
Before you start filling out your application, you will need to gather all the pertinent data from your school records. You’ll need the following information:
- A list of all of the classes you took in high school
- The grades you received for each class
- Your cumulative GPA
- Your school’s GPA calculation system (weighted vs. unweighted)
- Your class rank (if applicable)
It’s important that you get everything correct on your Common App, so don’t guess or estimate anything! Usually, you can find your classes, grades, and GPA on your transcript. If you’re having difficulty tracking down any of this data, reach out to your high school counselor.
Getting Started with the Education Section of the Common App
To get to the education section, log into your Common App account and click on the “Common App” tab. Then, select “Education” from the left side of the screen. This section is split into nine subsections, so you’ll need to click on each of them to open them up.
As you fill out the education section, you’ll be guided through questions that cover a wide array of details regarding your high school career and educational history, including where you went to school, your class rank, and how you did in your classes.
Section: Current or Most Recent School
In the first part of the education section, you will have to provide information about the school you currently attend (or the school you have attended most recently, if you took a gap year)..
Thankfully, you can use the Common App’s built-in database of high schools to easily find yours. When you do, the correct information is automatically filled in for you.You can search for your school by:
- School name
- Location
- CEEB code (a numeric code assigned to each school by the College Board)
Once you find your school, click on it and then select “continue.” The Common App will automatically fill in your school’s information from its database.
If you make a mistake and need to change the school you chose, just click “remove” or “change” under the school’s name and repeat the search steps.
What If You Don’t See Your School or You Were Homeschooled?
If you went to a high school but don’t see it on the search screen, make sure you haven’t made a mistake. Type in more than just the first word or two of the school’s name; many US high schools have similar names, so it’s important to use the full name and then verify the school’s location. Don’t search for your school using a nickname or abbreviation.
If you are homeschooled, you have a few options. If you’re a member of a widespread homeschooling organization, it may be listed on the Common App, so use the search function to check. If it’s not there, or if you weren’t homeschooled as a part of an organization, simply choose the “Homeschooled” option and enter your information accordingly.
If you’re absolutely sure your school isn’t listed, scroll to the bottom of the list and choose “I don’t see my high school.” Then, you can enter the requested information manually.
Additional Questions in this Subsection
Once you choose your school, you must fill in some additional information, including:
- Details about your school counselor
- Date of entry (when you began attending this school)
- School format (day school vs. boarding school)
- Whether you did or will graduate from this school
Make sure that you reach out to your counselor to get accurate information from them. If you don’t have a school counselor, use the information of the person who oversaw your education the most, such as a principal or advisor.
Section: Other Schools
If you’ve attended more than once school during your high school career, you will add them in the “Other Schools” section. The first question will ask you to indicate the number of other schools you’ve attended. If the answer is none, you won’t need to answer any additional questions, and you can move on to the next section.
If you do need to fill it out, here’s how. Enter the number of other schools you’ve attended, making sure not to count your current one. Then, use the search feature to fill in school information from the Common App database, just as you did for your current school. You will also be prompted to add the dates you attended each school.
Section: Colleges and Universities
This section will ask about any universities, institutions, or colleges you have previously attended. If you are a transfer student or if you took any classes at a university or college while you were still in high school, you have to fill out this section. However, if you took International Baccalaureate (IB) courses or Advanced Placement (AP) courses during high school, they are not be considered college courses in this context since they are taught by high school teachers, not college professors.
The first item in this section asks you to indicate the number of colleges or universities where you have taken courses. If the answer is none, you can move on to the next section.
If you have taken at least one college course during high school, you’ll choose the number of colleges you attended using the provided drop-down menu. Remember, this number should represent the number of colleges where you took classes, not the number of courses you took.
For each college, you will have to provide the following information:
- The name of the college
- The date you started attending the college
- The date you stopped attending
- The degree you earned, if any
Remember to repeat the steps and fill in this information separately for each college you attended.
Section: Courses & Grades
In the “Courses & Grades” portion of the education section of the Common App, you will provide information about your high school academic performance, such as your GPA, class rank report, and more.
It’s likely you won’t know all the answers off the top of your head, but it should be easy for you to get them from your high school counselor Request your transcript and schedule a meeting to ask about your class size and rank.
Cumulative GPA
Your GPA, or grade point average, is a numerical representation of all your high school grades. In the cumulative GPA section of the Common App, you will be asked to give the GPA you’ve earned throughout high school–not just the last semester. Enter it exactly as it appears on your transcript.
GPA Scale
Each school has its own system for calculating grade point averages, so you will need to enter your school’s scale. Use the drop-down list to select the number of points your school uses to calculate GPA. Depending on your school, this could be anywhere from four to 100.
GPA Weighting
Your school will use either a weighted GPA system or an unweighted one, so you will need to enter that information in this section. A weighted GPA system awards extra points for honors, AP, and IB courses, whereas an unweighted GPA counts all courses equally. If you don’t know which system your school uses, make sure to ask a school official.
Class Rank Report
Your class rank report is a description of where your GPA stacks up compared to the other students in your graduating class. However, some schools don’t rank students. Ask your counselor if your school has rankings and, if so, what your ranking is.
If your school doesn’t rank students, you can simply select “none” and move on. If your school does calculate rankings, the drop-down menu will give you choices to indicate whether your school uses one of the following methods to rank students:
- By quartile
- By decile
- By quintile
Then, you can input your rank, either as a number or a percentage (depending on your school’s ranking system).
Class Rank Weighting
If your school does report class ranks, you will be prompted to answer whether your school uses weighted or unweighted rankings.
Graduating Class Size
To better understand your class ranking, the Common App will ask for your graduating class size. Simply input the number of students who are in the same grade as you at school. . This number typically changes from time to time, so you can use the most up-to-date figure you have.
Section: Current or Most Recent Year Courses
This part of the education section of the Common App asks for details about the most recent classes you’ve taken (or are currently taking) in high school. If you’re not currently in high school, list courses from your most recent academic year.
To input your courses, select the number you want to include from the drop-down menu. Then, enter the following information for each class:
- Full course name
- Designation (Honors, AP, IB, etc.)
- Schedule (quarterly, semester, trimester, etc.)
The Honors Section
This section allows you to describe the academic honors you’ve earned. You can list formal achievements like honor rolls and academic awards, but you can also highlight summer programs, research opportunities, and scholarships. You can only list up to five honors, so choose the most impressive and competitive opportunities.
Community-Based Organizations
If you have received any assistance from an organization, like the Boys and Girls Club, while preparing your college application, use this section to describe it.
Start by stating how many organizations gave you free assistance. If there are none, you are finished with this section. If there are some, you must provide the requested information about each one.
Future Plans
This final part of the education section asks you to briefly outline your educational and career goals. You will first have to select your intended career from a drop-down menu. Then, you will need to choose the highest degree you plan to earn.
It can be stressful to answer such big questions about your future plans, but don’t worry! The answers aren’t binding; they’re just meant to give colleges a window into your future plans. If you don’t have any clear career goals at the moment, it’s okay to choose “undecided.” However, if you already know what you want to major in, choose a career that aligns with that area of study.
Finishing Up the Common App Education Section
And just like that, you are done! However, it’s important to remember that the education section is just one portion of the Common App. You still need to write a compelling essay, input standardized test scores, and outline all of your activities. Make sure you put equal effort into every section so that you can build a strong, well-rounded application that showcases all the ways you’ve been successful in high school, both inside and outside the classroom!
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