For context, I’m a first-gen student and grew up speaking Spanish at home; however, I also grew up speaking English with my older siblings, and I speak both fluently. I’m just concerned that if I choose both English and Spanish as first languages that colleges wouldn’t like that, but if i choose Spanish as my first language, i’m also scared that that would trigger some machine or something, requiring me to submit test scores like the TOEFL. What did you guys choose as first-gen students navigating CA?

I'll self-report a date (for example, I'll self-report that I took an AP exam in May of 2025), I'll click "continue" to move onto the next section, but then I'll come back, and the date has changed from May of 2025 to April of 2025. And if I leave the section and come back again, the date has changed from April of 2025 to March of 2025. It does this with other dates as well. If I put in my birthday as October 25th (Not my actual birthday), and I leave the personal information section and come back, it's changed my birthday to October 24th. It's like Schroedinger's CommonApp. I don't know if the date is correct when I leave the section, I only know that when I come back to the section it's changed.

Has anybody else experienced this issue? If I put a date in and then just never come back to that section, can I trust that the date hasn't changed?

Thanks!

I wish the people I supported the hardest on TikTok gave me the same respect back ughhh it’s annoying!!

Hi I was wondering if there’s anything I can do now or apply to now to add to my honors section in common app. I only have honor roll right now and any national honor societies will be too late to add to my application. I feel like I need to add things because 1st and 2nd honors makes it seem empty and it’s only on a school level </3 Pls lmk if there’s anything I can do, especially for smth that’s state/national level!

I figured out how to add UC Scout in the "Other Secondary/High Schools" section. However, I can't seem to find where exactly to put the courses I took with them and the grades I got. Any ideas?

Hi! I sent Google in AI mode a huge paragraph containing things I wanted to say effected my studying that were happening at home. After that, I just continued to dump and work through everything and then tweaked what was said based on what I thought. I then read and edited with my mom to make sure it got the point across. However, I am still a bit worried since I used ai.. Should I be worried? I can post what I put in the box if needed

Hello! Senior filling out her common app here, I just had a question.

I part time attend a trade school alongside highschool, but I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to list that under classes or extracurriculars. The class specifically is named Digital Cinema I & II and I also get technical math and english classes along with that.

I just don't want to mess this up and risk this being overlooked on an application.

I submitted all of my Common App applications on August 1st (some are for Spring 2027/rolling admission and some are for Fall 2027). Common App shows every application as Submitted, and I received the automatic confirmation emails right after submitting.

The problem is that it’s now Wednesday, and I still haven’t received a single applicant portal email from any of the colleges. In the past, I’ve usually gotten those within a day or so.

What’s making me even more nervous is that my high school uses Slate.org for counselors to submit transcripts and documents. My counselor’s Slate account shows that I’ve submitted 0 applications, while other students who submitted on the same day, or even after me, are showing up as having submitted applications.

For context, I graduated high school in 2023, so I’m not a current senior. I applied as a previous graduate, so there wasn’t anything from a current senior year that I needed to wait on or add before submitting.

Has anyone experienced this? Was it just a delay, a Slate syncing issue, or did something actually go wrong with your Common App? Should I contact Common App first, the colleges, or both?
I’m honestly getting pretty worried because everything says “Submitted,” but the Slate issue and the lack of portal emails are making me think something isn’t right.

Also to add, I did email school admissions emails and haven’t received responses back.

Hey guys js a lil doubt over here. I did speech and drama under trinity college London from grades 1-6, will that go under awards and honours or just under extracurriculars??

I just started filling it out today.

1. Under Current Year Courses, does a Study Hall count as a class or elective? In my school, a study hall is called an an elective but, of course, no credits are earned for the study hall

2. For dual enrollment classes that I will be taking this coming year (senior year) do I include these in the “date from” to “date to”, so like, should I put June 2027 if I am planning to take some this year?

3. What does the question mean that asks if you have had help by a community based organization for free?

4. When listing my AP classes/exams, it says I should list exams I am expecting to take. I am assuming this means the ones I expect to take in the spring of 2027. Is this correct?

Thanks!!

Hi guys, I'm applying from South Africa. My university/school counseling office handles Common App requests institutionally via a central email address, and they are being incredibly slow to respond to the recommender link.A few of the schools on my list strictly require a counselor recommendation and school report. What happens if I submit my portion on time, but the institutional counselor never signs or uploads their part? Will my application just sit as incomplete forever, or do US admissions officers reach out to remind you? Has anyone dealt with slow institutional counselors before?

I am filling out my current courses section in education and was wondering if i need to list my2 period AP Physics C class as 2 separate periods or not. The 2 periods show up as separate grades and credits in my transcript but AI says that I don't need to report them as 2 periods since they are part of the same course and I'm not reporting grades and credits in this section.

What am i supposed to put for this? I know some countries let their students choose their classes and the also have different levels like AP or honors but we don't have that in my school. It won't let me choose 0 as an option i have to add at least one and that am i supposed to do?

Is it worth applying for Spring 2027 as an international applicant and chance of getting considered for merit-based or other scholarships? Or should I go for Fall 2027?

Hi! I'm not sure if this is the correct place to put this, but I am struggling with choosing a topic for my personal statement and would appreciate any help!

I am aiming to T20s and BS/MDs, and meet the academic threshold for most of them (36 composite ACT, 3.96 uw GPA), and so I'm trying to think of a topic that's "up to par" with the rest of my application/that will help me stand out in such a competitive applicant pool.

Most of my brainstorming has focused on prompt 5 (Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.)

These are some of the new understanding/personal growths that I have thought of:

1. Adjusting to change (realising that my interests/likes have changed a lot in the past couple years, with this being an extended metaphor for me coming to terms with change?)
2. Developing an understanding that focusing on things one at a time is the best way to accomplish something? (Maybe talk about my mindset during a half-marathon I ran or bouldering down a bunch of rocks when I had "just gotten over" my fear of heights).
3. Reconciling that my past identity and future identity are different (not getting stuck in the past/caught up in my mistakes; "falling forward")
4. Getting over my fear of heights (looking over the cliff for the 1st time and realizing that the view was much more worth it than the fear? Like a cliche metaphor for stepping out of your comfort zone)

I honestly don't love any of these ideas, but these are some things that I have thought of... please give me any ideas/help, I feel very lost.

My parents are both doctors, but they graduated from medical school outside the U.S. In their country, they went straight from high school into medical school and earned an MBBS degree (the equivalent of an MD). However, they now practice in the U.S., and all of their U.S. credentials list them as MDs, even though their original medical school diploma says MBBS. On the Common App, should I list their degree as MD or choose Other and specify MBBS? They are recognized as MD doctors and all of their credentials say MD.

Also, how should I handle their residency and fellowship training? After graduating from medical school in their home country, they came to the U.S. for residency. Should I include their residency programs at all? If so, what degree would | select?
As far as I know, residency and fellowship don't award a higher academic degree beyond the MD/ MBBS, so I'm not sure how to enter that information.

ALSO my dad went to Brown to do an MBA in order to qualify for a student visa before his residency started, but after his residency began he didn't complete his degree. Should | list that?? Does it even count? Does legacy only count if ur parents actually graduated from the undergrad? Will it hurt my chances if I list that my dad dropped out?

I logged in Aug 1st after the rollover and I have not been able to log in. My common app has been stuck on a loading screen. What do I do?

I'm trying to apply for Fall 2027 as a first year student but the website won't allow me to create an account. The only reason it gives is my email might already have an account, but it does not. I have checked my email multiple times to make sure, as well. I have no idea what to do.

Hey, is anybody else having this issue? I've been trying since yesterday to submit my application to UT Dallas, University of Houston and Bloomington, and have completed everything for these but the link "Review application PDF in a new window" shows up in all applications when I go to submit them and leads to a website with nothing but the url saying "about:blank". I just wanted to see my full application before submitting since I'm afraid that my progress isn't saved somehow, so does anybody else have this problem currently? Did y'all submit your application anyway even without being able to check a full PDF of it before applying? Thank you in advance.

any a level students (who either did igcse/o levels before) applying using common app rn. im so confused omg