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Colleges applications ask for A LOT of information! Nevertheless, students sometimes feel like they need to say more in order for the colleges to truly understand their qualifications or circumstances. Most applications, including the Common App, offer students an opportunity to provide this additional context. On the Common App, it’s known as the “Additional Information” (AI) section. The specific prompt reads, “Do you wish to provide details of circumstances or qualifications not reflected in the application?* and is followed by a 650-word text box.
While the Common App permits students to write 650 additional words, most students leave this section blank. There’s no obligation to fill it out, and, in most cases, the already-voluminous amount of information conveyed is sufficient to give the college a holistic view of the applicant. So, what circumstances warrant use of this section? The answer, of course, is the standard response to nearly all college admissions questions: It depends! We’ll start, though, by explaining that this section is not. The AI section is not a “freebie” essay. Colleges are deliberate about which essays they do (and don’t) require (and, correspondingly, what information they are seeking). It may be tempting to submit that great essay you wrote for another college or to tell a college you really, really want to go there, but misuse of the AI section may, in fact, backfire. Including an extra essay will slow down busy admissions readers and demonstrate an inability or unwillingness to follow the rules.
The AI section is also not a forum for making excuses or repeating information from other parts of the application. Rather, it’s an opportunity to provide new, important context for a student’s application that there is simply no other opportunity to include elsewhere in the application. We joke with students that this section often includes information that is “really good or really bad.” Jest aside, most information in this section falls into one of those two categories. A student may have an extraordinary achievement that is not self-explanatory or that is virtually impossible to fully explain in the 150 characters allotted by the Common App Activities section. While being team captain and Student Council President are wonderful accomplishments, admissions readers will understand their significance without further explanation. The Additional Information section should be reserved for sharing context about truly remarkable achievements, typically in a few sentences or a short paragraph.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, students may use the Additional Information section to explain anomalously poor grades or to highlight positive grade trends and the strategies that led to the improvement. Rather than making excuses, students should factually explain what happened and why—and, most importantly, how they addressed the situation and will take steps to prevent future reoccurrences. Let’s say a student had a concussion sophomore year that caused a dip in grades; a short explanation would contextualize the transcript and the student’s academic trajectory. Similarly, a student may have struggled in ninth grade before developing better study skills and learning to self-advocate.. Rather than making excuses for missteps, the student should take responsibility for them. Admissions officers know that everyone makes mistakes—and teenagers often make more than their fair share. In the AI section, students can demonstrate that they learned from their mistakes and now possess tools to avoid similar struggles in college. Remember that colleges ultimately want to admit students who will be successful on their campuses—an application is essentially a marketing piece that showcases the student’s strengths. While students should self-reflect and show growth, applications are not primarily intended to be therapeutic outlets.
The tone of the AI section should reflect its purpose. AI content should not be a beautifully-crafted narrative. Instead, students should convey Information in a direct, targeted fashion. In contrast to the typical “show, don’t tell” principle of college essay writing, the AI section should do the opposite. It’s not a forum for imagery, literary devices, or a prolonged narrative. Think of it as “here’s some critical information about me that you need to know as you’re reading my application.” Be direct, honest, brief, and contrite, and only complete this section if it’s truly necessary.
