Common Application Quick Info Sheet

Your guide to commonly asked questions

Updated Summer 2010

REGISTRATION PAGE:
• You are applying as a first year student.
• Email Address – Give the colleges an email address that isn’t provocative
and one that
you check very frequently. Consider setting up an account only for the
college process,
like your Bishop’s email account.

FUTURE PLANS
• You must select colleges in the My Colleges section to complete the Future
Plans section.
• Be careful about which majors/academic interests you choose for
each college. The
Common Application lists the same majors for every college. Be sure that
you are
selecting a major that is offered by the specific college.

DEMOGRAPHICS
• Talk to your counselor if you have any questions about your citizenship
status.
• The “Optional” items really are optional. This data is used for identification
purposes
(like the SSN) or for reporting demographics. This really is an optional
section.

ADDRESS
• You do not have to give your cell number or IM address. We suggest that
you do not
give them this info.
• IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE MAIL AT YOUR HOME, do not enter that address AT
ALL on your application. For instance, if you use a PO Box for mail rather
than receiving
mail at your actual street address, YOU MUST list your PO Box if you ever
wish to hear
from any college via mail.

FAMILY
• As each family situation is different, please ask us if you have questions
about
completing this section.
ACADEMICS
• Graduation date – 5/27/2011
• Type of school – Independent
• CEEB/ACT Code – 051330
• School Address: 7607 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla, CA, 92037
• Counselor Name, Email, Title, Phone:
O Ms. Jasmin Escobar-Taylor; escobarj@bishops.com; Assoc. Dir. Of College
Counseling
858-459-4021, x230
O Ms. Emmi Harward; harwarde@bishops.com; Co-Dir. of College Counseling;
858-459-4021, x250
O Mr. Michael J. Pina; pinam@bishops.com; Co-Dir. of College Counseling;
858-
459-4021, x225
• Fax: 858-459-5108
• Colleges and Universities – Click yes if you have attended any college
classes, including
summer programs. As indicated, list names of courses, grades earned, and
credits earned
in the “Additional Information” section of the Common App online.
• Current year courses – Enter your Senior Year courses here, and use full
titles as they
appear on your schedule. Do not use the third trimester column. Don’t
worry about
listing credit hours.
• Honors – Include high school honors or awards only. Do not list anything
before ninth
grade unless it was a national or international level award.

STANDARDIZED TESTS
• Give careful consideration about which test scores to report in the
ACT, SAT and
Subject Tests section. Include only those that you will send to ALL
colleges. You
should talk with your counselor about which test scores are required by your
colleges and
as such, which you will submit and list in this section. This goes for future
test dates as
well.
• AP Scores – As the AP scores are not, for the vast majority of colleges, an
official part of
the college application process, you do not have to list any AP scores here.
You should
highlight and report AP scores of 4 or 5 here.
• TOEFL – This is the “Test of English as a Foreign Language”. You do not
need to take
this test unless you have been speaking English for fewer than ten years.
Some colleges
ask international applicants to submit this score as well. Talk to your
counselor if either
situation applies to you.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
• Don’t use abbreviations; not every college knows what PDG means.
• Stick to 9-12, unless you did something really amazing before 9th grade.
• You can list only seven activities here. You can continue in the “Additional
Information”
section if ABSOLUTELY necessary or if you REALLY need to explain something
further. In general, you do not need to send a résumé unless a college
requests it.
• Work Experience – This is for both paid jobs and internships. Include
everything, like
babysitting and caring for relatives. Again, don’t sweat it if you have nothing
to list here!

WRITING
• Short Answer – The key word is SHORT and the suggested word limit is
150 words. Be
as thoughtful with this response as you would your long essay – this one is
important too!
• Personal Essay – Minimum of 250 words, but aim for 500. Be sure to
answer the
question, which ever one you choose. You can upload a Word document, so
be sure that
the spacing and formatting is how you want it to look.
• Disciplinary History – If you aren’t sure how to respond, talk to your
college counselor.
• Additional Information – Here’s where you can put anything that didn’t
“fit” in the rest
of the application. You don’t have to use this space and filler is strongly
discouraged.
Talk to your counselor about using this section.

SIGNATURE
• STOP HERE UNTIL YOUR APPLICATION IS PERFECT AND READY TO GO!
• When you sign your applications, either with ink or electronically, you are
saying that
everything in the application is true. If you are found “fudging” some info,
your
admissions decision can be rescinded. Do not lie on your applications!
SUPPLEMENTS
• The colleges you selected in My Colleges will determine if you have
supplements or not.

SCHOOL FORMS
• As we will submit Common Application School Forms electronically, you do
not have to
complete or print this section.

Other random questions you may encounter:

• Are we on a block schedule? No.
• Should I waive access to my recommendation? Yes. It says that you
trust that good
things will be said about you without having to read them first.
• What is my class rank? The Bishop’s School does not provide a class
rank.
• What is my GPA? Is it weighted or unweighted? Check Naviance for
your most
current GPA. It is weighted.
• Do I have to do “optional essays”? It’s usually in your best interest to
do the optional
essays. You do not have to do the “additional information” essays, unless
you have
specific additional info you want to share.

Have a question not answered here? Ask your college counselor!