AP-5
©
2017 The Common Application, Inc. | Property of The Common Application, Inc.
Common Application member institution admission offices do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, creed, sex,
age, marital status, parental status, physical disability, learning disability, political affiliation, veteran status, or sexual orientation.
WRITING
Personal Essay
Note: Some colleges require a personal essay. You may submit a personal essay to any college, even if it is not required by that college.
Instructions. The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you
want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and
write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full
range if you need it, but don’t feel obligated to do so.
• Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like
you, then please share your story.
• The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it
affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
• Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
• Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma—anything that is of
personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
• Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
• Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you
want to learn more?
• Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Additional Information
Please attach a separate sheet if you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application
.
Disciplinary History
Please Note: Common Application member colleges carefully consider all parts of your application. Information provided below will be considered in the
context of the rest of your application and does not necessarily prevent you from being admitted to college. For more information on whether specific
colleges choose to receive this information or how it may be considered, please contact the college directly.
a
Have you ever been found responsible for a disciplinary violation at any educational institution you have attended from the 9
th
grade (or the international equivalent)
forward, whether related to academic misconduct or behavioral misconduct, that resulted in a disciplinary action? These actions could include, but are not limited
to: probation, suspension, removal, dismissal, or expulsion from the institution.
p Yes p No
b
Have you ever been adjudicated guilty or convicted of a misdemeanor or felony? p Yes p No
[Note that you are not required to answer “yes” to this question, or provide an explanation, if the criminal adjudication or conviction has been expunged, sealed,
annulled, pardoned, destroyed, erased, impounded, or otherwise required by law or ordered by a court to be kept confidential.]
If you answered “yes” to either or both questions, please attach a separate sheet of paper that gives the approximate date of each incident, explains the circumstances, and
reflects on what you learned from the experience.
Note: Applicants are expected to immediately notify the institutions to which they are applying should there be any changes to the information requested
in this application, including disciplinary history.
SIGNATURE
Application Fee Payment
If this college requires an application fee, how will you be paying it?
p Online Payment p Will Mail Payment p Fee Waiver Request
Required Signature
w
I certify that all information submitted in the admission process—including this application and any other supporting materials—is my own work, factually true,
and honestly presented, and that these documents will become the property of the institution to which I am applying and will not be returned to me. I understand
that I may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation, expulsion, or revocation of course credit, grades, and degree
should the information I have certified be false.
w
I agree to notify the institutions to which I am applying immediately should there be any change to the information requested in this application, including
disciplinary history.
w
I understand that once my application has been submitted it may not be altered in any way; I will need to contact the institution directly if I wish to provide
additional information.
w
I acknowledge that I have reviewed the application instructions for the college receiving this application. I understand that all offers of admission are conditional,
pending receipt of final transcripts showing work comparable in quality to that upon which the offer was based, as well as honorable dismissal from the school.
w
I affirm that I will send an enrollment deposit (or equivalent) to only one institution; sending multiple deposits (or equivalent) may result in the withdrawal of my
admission offers from all institutions. [Note: students may send an enrollment deposit (or equivalent) to a second institution where they have been admitted from
the waitlist, provided that they inform the first institution that they will no longer be enrolling.]
Signature _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Date ___________________
mm/dd/yyyy
