Side note…one of my first PR campaigns many years ago was 7-Eleven’s “So many changes, it isn’t even funny!” That line stuck with me, and I think it applies to college admissions, too! Why? So much information and so many requirements are college-specific, and things CHANGE! Prompts, deadlines, requirements, etc. Even comparing college websites to the Common App, you may see discrepancies. Try to stay on top of all of the moving details, even if it feels like you’re trying to catch wet spaghetti! Research is an amazing and powerful tool when navigating college admissions.

Now let’s talk Common App!

1. Account Rollover – If you started your Common App prior to 8/1, SOME info will roll over; some won’t. Verify anything you already entered. Check out my article explaining that, plus intel on what’s NEW in this year’s Common App. There are definitely some changes this year, but nothing too major. I’ve outlined most of the big ones in my article linked here.
2. Preview – That’s your best friend in the Common App. Preview + proof what you enter with the PREVIEW button before submitting. If you’ve seen me talk at schools, I share the comment from one admissions officer who told me a student uploaded breakup texts from a boyfriend by accident. Preview + proof! Trust me, it’s worth it!
3. AI-Generated Essays – No. Please, no! So many reasons why. This is definitely NOT the writing colleges are looking for, and it can really backfire on you. Present your best, authentic work – THAT is a winner!
4. For the WRITING SECTIONS – Write & edit somewhere else before copying & pasting into the Common App. Then PROOF again. Many times, spacing & formatting get wonky and need to be adjusted. Also, note that the dash (-) sometimes counts as a word.
5. Activity List – Did you edit first offline? Change/add anything? UPDATE! Also, note the activity section allows you to MOVE activities UP & DOWN after entering. Again PREVIEW! Position + Organization appear in BOLD and are automatically separated by a comma for you.
6. Respect the Word Counts 🙂 – One year, a student called me to say that the Common App was allowing him to enter MORE than the word count. Should he? No. Follow the directions provided 🙂
7. Formatting – Again, sometimes this has to be redone after entering content and is really limited (italics, bold, underline). This is a REAL bummer to me. I’ve had many students who wanted to insert emojis or international languages, and I’ve suggested this upgrade every year to the Common App. Maybe one year…

I’ll be adding a video to this post to SHOW you how to navigate the 2025-26 Common App below.

Good luck, and let me know if I can help you!

The post Common App Launch Day! Class of 2026 Tips appeared first on Power Hour Editing.

Let’s start with news on the writing requirements and meaningful CHANGES to the Common App. Here are the writing requirements that will stay the SAME:

• Main Essay prompts – no change – see them and my tips here.
• Activity Section – no change to how you report your activities (up to 10), but they’ve added a mandatory checklist response that I’ll explain below.
• Because I’m frequently asked who answers which prompt, I’ll share stats from this past cycle as an FYI. But…remember it truly doesn’t matter WHICH prompt you select as long as your answer fits generally into what they’re asking. In this past cycle, prompts in order of popularity were as follows: Free Choice (28%); Facing Adversity (22%); Personal Growth (20%); Background, identity, interest of talent (18%); Intellectual Curiosity (5%); and tied at last were the Gratitude (3%) and Challenging an Idea (3%) prompts.

Here are the CHANGES announced for the 2025-26 cycle:

• The Additional Information (optional) question is the same, but the maximum word count is only 300 this year (vs 650 before). They found that the average responses were much shorter, and this syncs with my advice – keep it simple & brief! More here.
• They DELETED the Community Disruption question & renamed it “Challenges & Circumstances” (up to 250 words max). Interesting that 100,000 applicants answered the pandemic-triggered Community Disruption in 2024-25 (vs 300,000 in 2020-21). The average number of words applicants used for this response was less than 200. More on this here.
• NEW for all applicants this cycle is the required “Responsibilities & Circumstances” checklist (no writing, just a checklist) where students can indicate if they spend 4 hours or more a week on family responsibilities or general circumstances. This is something the Common App tested in pilot form for three cycles and decided to implement this year system-wide. Note – there is STILL an option in the MAIN ACTIVITY LIST SECTION to select “Family Responsibility” if that applies (caregiving, babysitting, etc.). On this new CHECKLIST, while it’s required, you CAN check “none of the above.” I grabbed a screenshot to show you.

• ACT/SAT Test Reporting – They’ve added an option to report with or without science and writing (both optional for the online test). And to avoid confusion, they’re updating the grid of colleges so students are clearer on WHO requires test scores, INCLUDING these sometimes optional sections (science + writing).

Important Reminders:

• The Common App officially launches AUGUST 1 for the Class of 2026. You CAN (but don’t need to) start your account earlier. I heard that scholarship matching can start BEFORE you apply, so that might be a reason to go ahead and set up your account now. IF you do that (optional), please keep the following in mind:
  • Account rollover continues, meaning IF you start your account prior to 8/1, only SOME of the information will roll over into your actual application. See below for specifics.
  • Remember to download any information you entered prior to July 28 because the system will go offline before launching.

More Common App Updates:

• Direct Admissions will continue in 2025-26. That means that partnering member institutions will grant proactive admissions offers to select first-generation & low/middle-income students. More info to be posted in Fall 2025.
• As mentioned above, the Common App expanded its Scholarship Matching capabilities, so definitely check that out! Students can now match to opportunities BEFORE applying. See the slide below for more information.

That’s all for now! I hope this helps you anticipate application season! As the number of applicants AND applications continues to increase, it’s important to stand out and present a polished application package. As of TODAY, there are 66 days until LAUNCH DAY (August 1), so you have plenty of time to take the first steps I recommend: research college list, draft Activity List, and draft your Main Essay. Then, focus on supplements that will be confirmed between now and August 1.

The post What’s New with the Common App – Class of 2026 Updates appeared first on Power Hour Editing.

• Main Essay – No change to Common App prompts from last year! See those prompts and my tips for how to tackle them here.
• Activity List – No changes. You’ll still have a really tight space to explain a lot, so your characters count! Position/leadership (50); Organization (100); Description (150). Looking for inspiration on your activity list? Check out my “Pandemic Pivots Panel” where students got creative during a really tough time. Maybe this will spark YOUR ideas?
• Community Disruption/COVID-19 Question – Returning again. Only answer if you have something critical to share. Two cycles ago, only 16% of the students answered this question. I haven’t heard new data yet, but I suspect it’s similar.
• Additional Info – Same story here – up to 650 words. Optional – only if you need it for context.

What else do you need to know?

• Account Rollover – The Common App will go offline on July 28 and reload for the Class of 2025 on August 1. IF you start your Common App account BEFORE 8/1, here’s what will and won’t roll over:

More interesting updates:

• More schools have joined the Common App! Currently, there are 1,074 member institutions, and approximately half don’t charge any application fee.
• The number of applications continues to increase: 1.4 million unique first-year applicants (+7% vs year ago) submitted 9.4 million first-year apps (+11% vs year ago)
• College Profile Page – upgrades coming, especially in making deadlines clearer.
• SCOTUS Impact – After the Supreme Court’s decision to disallow the consideration of race in admissions, the Common App still asks students to report this information for data/statistics purposes to achieve its “moonshot goal” of equity in college admissions. They told us that this information is “suppressed,” so colleges don’t see it.
• Direct Admissions will continue, and some offers will be made inside the Common App! This includes proactive admission offers from partnering member institutions to first-generation and low/middle-income students. We hope to see more info on this in the coming months.
• Financial Aid Tab – Look for improvements, including more in-app scholarship matching and prioritizing calls to action.
• Fraud Policy Update – The Common App is continuing to ask students to affirm that all writing is their own (no AI please!) and will be looking to detect fraud in applications in general. See below for more info:

That’s all for now! I’ll close with my favorite question…What’s your story?

The post What’s New with Common App: 2024-25 updates appeared first on Power Hour Editing.

So while I’ll continue to focus most heavily in the writing/editing lane, I consider myself a student of the overall admissions process and have learned a TON that I share with my students to fuel their process. To me, POWER HOUR means delivering the most valuable information as quickly as possible. Here are highlights of some ways I go beyond just editing:

• Planning. KEY! I’ve been a spreadsheet person forever and even launched a mom blog helping other moms thrive in the “business of motherhood.” I was that mom with color-coded carpool schedules, etc., and bring my creative organizational skills to provide my students with a robust, weekly planner to manage the process.
• Research. Critical now more than ever. I give my students unique ways to find research to answer these questions: WHY YOU? WHY NOW? WHY HERE? It sounds simple, but finding unique facts that really CONNECT you to EACH school in a compelling way will absolutely increase your chances of success. I also provide examples so students can model their own responses in a powerful way. Class date JUST announced if you want to spend a POWER HOUR learning this tactic!
• Activities/Resume. This is your story over time, and how you present it makes a difference. I LOVE ACTIVITY LISTS! There’s such potential on this part of the app, and with such limited space, every character counts. I counsel students on how to report activities in a way that will work hard for them. Also, having seen thousands of activities over the years, I have a huge database of activities, community service, etc. I’ve seen so many unique examples of how students dive into so many things, and I love to advise students on how to find their best-fit activities. It’s such a win-win! Check out my video on “Pandemic Pivots” including a panel of students who found a way to get involved during a challenging time. Class date JUST announced if you want to spend a POWER HOUR learning how to build your list!
• Supplements. I research school supplements and talk to admissions officers to get specific tips to share with students. I’ve created outlines & links for many schools, and I assemble supplement documents for many of my students in the summer so they can focus on writing! Check out my interview with BU Admissions on what they look for.
• Demonstrating Interest or Appealing Decisions. Again, it’s marketing + writing! I teach students how to find persuasive information to stand out and sometimes reverse decisions based on new information.
• Financial Aid. Definitely not my area of expertise. I’m all about words, not numbers 🙂 But I study it, including the FAFSA’s recent relaunch and subsequent challenges associated. I’m answering BASIC questions and am about to announce an affiliate relationship with incredible expertise in this area who will be able to help my students take a deeper dive into the process to maximize their aid. People come to me to help with WORDS, and last year, I helped a family secure an additional $5K/year with a letter I wrote for them appealing their aid. I’m excited about how much more people might be able to save with some new strategies I’m hearing about.
• And more! I see applications as a series of puzzle pieces, and I advise students to move FORWARD with each and every piece they present. I’ve developed great relationships with experts I love to refer to in many areas of the admissions process (list specialists, test prep, resources for neurodiverse students, etc.) and am happy to share information to help my families find subject-specific experts for anything they need. College lists are one area that I ABSOLUTELY refer to colleagues when needed or requested by families. With the test-optional wave, this is becoming more critical than ever before, and I highly recommend that students make sure their lists are balanced.

My motto: I am committed to helping my students in many ways, and if I can’t, I’ll find someone who can!

So…while I’ve gradually expanded what I do, adding AND CONSULTING to my logo means a lot to me and my students!

The post And Consulting at Power Hour Editing appeared first on Power Hour Editing.

Don’t let the year “2021” make you think this isn’t a very current topic. It is 🙂

In 2021, I shared my students’ frustration about how the pandemic was really influencing what they could do with activities. Beyond the fact that activities look great on college apps, guess what? Activities are FUN! Getting involved, giving back, creating change, enjoying time with peers, etc., it’s a great part of LIFE!

During the pandemic, I frequently heard, “Well, you know, the pandemic…,” followed by frustrations about how challenging it was to do stuff. At the same time, I was meeting students who were doing amazing things! Using technology in innovative ways to engage kids and adults; masking up and doing community service; making sandwiches to battle food insecurity; supporting frontline workers; Zooming with seniors to add a “hug” to loneliness; and so much more. I’m a big believer in safety first, so I would NEVER tell a teenager to get in harm’s way for any reason. I decided to reach out to students, asking if anyone was willing to share their stories of how they got involved, how they achieved what I called “Pandemic Pivots.”

What resulted was a panel of incredible stories of resilience and creativity. The pandemic (thankfully) is over, but the idea of finding a way to make things happen? Timeless! I hope these stories will inspire you to think…what could I do?

For the Class of 2024, activities are an important part of your college application. They tell the story of you OVER TIME. Join me in June for one of my last classes this season, “Reporting Activities on your College Application” – sign up here.

I’d love to hear what you think of this post! Add a comment to share your thoughts & ideas.

The post Pandemic Pivots – Get Inspired by What You CAN Do appeared first on Power Hour Editing.

Thank you to the Common App for hosting “What’s new with Common App: 2023-24” and for sharing important information that I can share with you! Ok, I’ll cut right to the biggest news regarding writing:

• Main Essay prompts are official for the Class of 2024. I reported more detail on that here, since those were previously confirmed.
• Activity List – the SAME! So start drafting those Wow Factor® lists!! Organization name (100 characters); Position/Leadership (50 characters); Description (150 characters). Is that a tight space? YES! Do you need to make EVERY character count? YES! For my private coaching students, we’ll make that happen! If we’re not working together, I’m leading a class on this subject in June – sign up here.
• Applicant integrity – There will be TWO opportunities to promise that you’re being honest. So…No AI-written essays, please! The last thing we want is for an applicant to submit an AI-written essay, have it detected, and have admissions offers withdrawn. AI-generated writing is not honest, not authentic, not personal, and it’s not allowed. I’ll be covering this subject separately since it’s HUGE.
• Can colleges consider race & ethnicity in college applications? As you may have heard, this is being considered by the Supreme Court. Here’s what the Common App said about it:

• Account Rollover – IF (optional) you set up your Common App account BEFORE the launch date of 8/1, some info will roll over; much won’t. See notes on that in this article, and make sure you download any information BEFORE it goes offline in late July and edit/verify anything previously entered after 8/1.
• Supplements – confirmed on 8/1 launch date. The questions you see NOW in the Common App are for the Class of 2023, so they absolutely can change. Don’t write supplements until you know for sure, unless you enjoy writing a lot! Some colleges will announce prompts BEFORE 8/1, but you want to double-check that you’re writing the correct response for your application cycle, as they can and do change!
• Other facts & figures: More applications were submitted this year (+13%); more colleges joined the Common App (+29 and counting). If you’re a data person, here are more facts & figures.
• LGBTQ+ student safety is a big priority, and the Common App has added many ways to indicate another gender, select which name Common App uses in communication, and more.
• Increased visibility for “suppressed information“ – in other words, if a college does not look at something, it will be more clear.
• Who answered which prompt this year? I’m frequently asked this question and believe it doesn’t matter which prompt you choose as long as it fits what follows. If you’re curious, here’s a breakdown of who answered what in this current cycle:

• Financial Aid Resources Tab – some enhancements and a reminder that the 2024-25 FAFSA is undergoing updates and will launch in December, not October.

The Common App has some great resources online for students, including its YouTube channel, and a host of resources for applicants.

In addition to all of this information, there was something BIG discussed that I’ll write about separately. Will videos replace written essays? Not anytime soon…More to follow on that!

The post What’s New (& Isn’t) with the Common App 2023-24? appeared first on Power Hour Editing.

I recently attended a Counselors Webinar and have some news to share. Here are the major headlines related to the writing on your application:

1. Confirmed – the Activity Section will remain the same. So start drafting your list! You’ll have limited space to report up to 10 activities, so make those characters count! Organization (100), Position/Leadership (50), Description (150). They confirmed that the hours per week and weeks per year you report should be your best ESTIMATE! Don’t stress.
2. Main essay prompts were announced, along with confirmation of the COVID question, and I shared details and tips here.

The Common App is live now, but it will go offline mid-July (they predict 7/28/22) before its official launch 8/1. If you need to enter information now (truly not necessary), be sure to export your information to PDF before the offline/online process and then compare notes. If you start early, here’s what will and won’t roll over:

Notice that “answers to college-specific questions” do NOT roll over. That also applies to supplements. Colleges can change supplements year to year. Some do; many don’t; so don’t assume what you see in the Common App PRIOR to 8/1 will apply to you. I’m collecting supplements as they’re slowly confirmed for my students. Other notable trends & updates:

• They added “Mx.” And “Other” as prefix options for sex and gender and will add “X or another legal sex” in 2023-24.
• Continued increase in number of applications overall and number of applications per student
• Historically significant drop in colleges requiring standardized test scores (only 5% in 2021-22 vs 55% year prior)
• Number of transfer applications increased this year
• Last year, 16% of applicants answered the optional COVID question. Should you? Tips here
• There are 50 new colleges joining the Common App – details here.

Here’s what you can collect NOW to be Common App ready in August:

• Draft your activity list
• Draft your main essay
• Finalize your college list & look for confirmed supplements this summer to get ahead
• Collect general Common App information
• Get an unofficial transcript from school & identify/fix any errors early

I’m frequently asked which prompts are most popular. My philosophy: it truly doesn’t matter which prompt you answer as long as your answer fits the one you pick. If you’re curious, here’s who answered which prompts this year:

If you’re interested in more background or tips, here are some links:

• Data analytics & research on the Common App
• Explore colleges; learn about schools; find test-optional schools; export your list; do virtual tours – link
• Plan for college – grade-by-grade checklists; parent resources; guides to application
• Understanding the Common App & preparing your application; understanding the essay prompts
• Need help? 24/7 Common App support

The post 2022 Update: What’s New With the Common App? And How Can You Get Ready for 8/1? appeared first on Power Hour Editing.

I’ve been so inspired by hearing the stories of how many students PIVOTED to find unique ways to give back to the community, stay involved, create new ventures, beat the boredom, find unique virtual opportunities, and more! Recently, I invited a Student Panel of 10 “rockstars” to talk about their unique pivots to inspire other students to find THEIRS at a free event – “Pandemic Activity Pivots.” We heard about some exciting community service projects – collecting diapers, delivering letters and meals to seniors, creating inspirational bracelets for frontline workers and pediatric patients, and writing a book inspired by social justice.

And we heard about baking and playing more chess after watching Queen’s Gambit; performing in virtual shows; teaching younger dancers; building a neighborhood bike obstacle course; and interviewing medical professionals. And it was thrilling to hear about students who launched new business ventures – tie-dying clothes, popping popcorn for charity, selling ice cream and cookies, breeding and selling bugs (yes, true!), and producing videos.

Here are some additional ideas for you to consider if you’re searching for ways to get involved:

• Do what you LOVE! Several of our student panelists shared that following your passion is important. I agree! Don’t do things “because they’ll look good on a college application.” Do things that matter to YOU!
• Google 🙂 is your best friend. Search “virtual community service opportunities” or ANYTHING of interest to YOU! So many companies and nonprofits have pivoted very well to the virtual format, and there are tons of things you can do to support your community in a safe, socially distanced, meaningful way!
• Colleges love “deep dives” – so if you love soccer, think about teaching younger kids, collecting sports equipment for a local charity, following podcasts about the sport.
• Take a free Ivy League class in an area of interest to you! Great article here on how to find. Also, Coursera has a huge number of free, self-paced classes.
• Ask your high school guidance department about virtual opportunities. Many schools have a coordinator for community service who would also be a great way to find ways to plug in. In Moco, we have “SSL – Student Service Learning,” and many schools have someone who approves the hours you give. Ask her/him for ideas!
• Love to travel? No passport required 🙂 to explore our world virtually. Check out this list of “30 Free Virtual Tours Around the World” I published on my mom blog, The MomTini Lounge.

Again, SAFETY FIRST! Masks and social distancing are essential, but isn’t it wonderful that you can do good deeds right from the comfort of your own home? Go for it!

My “Pandemic Activity Pivots” event was free, and I shared that I’ll be donating my time to College Tracks, an organization that helps first-generation-to-college students on their college journey. I look forward to helping students find and amplify their best voices. If you’re looking to donate to a great cause, consider College Tracks!

Students – I may interview another panel this spring – fill out this form if you’ve pivoted and want to talk about it!

Classes! I’ve announced my 1Q classes and have one POWER HOUR dedicated exclusively to “Reporting Your Activities.” (Can you tell I think activities are important? 🙂 ) Info/fees here.

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