College Applications: How to Use the Additional Information Section of the Common App to Get an Extra Edge

In this era of unprecedented competition for college admission, it’s important to exploit every available opportunity to get an extra edge on your competitors, including the Additional Information section of the Common Application.

The information you include in Additional Information section of the Common App can significantly boost your admissions chances

The Additional Information section of the Common Application allows you to add information that does not fit in other parts of your Common Application.  As with the Common Application essay, the Additional Information section has a 650-word limit. The information you include in this section will be sent with the rest of your application to every college you select on the Common Application.

Do you have to write something in the Common App’s Additional Information section? No, absolutely not. But you should include information if you have experienced extenuating circumstances that have significantly interfered with your school performance or extra-curricular participation.

For example, if a parent lost a job and you needed to work to help pay family bills, if the work interfered with your ability to participate in extra-curricular activities, you should use the Additional Information section of the Common App to explain what happened.

Another example: If you are dyslexic and you were denied extra time on the SAT or ACT, and if you feel that your score was compromised as a result, you should include that information in the Additional Information section of the Common Application.

If you choose to include information in the Additional Information section, remember that even though the word count is 650, you should only write what you need to say. Do not write another essay. Instead, be as concise as possible. Don’t blame or castigate anyone in your explanation. If you do, you will look like a whiner. Don’t complain about your fate. No college admissions officer wants to hear it. Instead, simply explain what happened and the consequences of what happened.

Below is a list of the kinds of situations that might warrant explanation in the Additional Information

• Physical or learning differences/disabilities that interfered with your school performance or participation in extra-curricular activities.

While many students receive modifications and accommodations for classes and testing, if you did not, you might want to note that here.

Example: If you were diagnosed with ADHD late in 10th grade and if, after receiving accommodations, your C grades shot up to As, you should note that. 

• Accidents that interfered with your ability to maintain or exceed your previous academic performance.

If you were involved in an accident and your injury and recovery resulted in lost time in school, and if that negatively impacted your academic performance, note that in the Additional Information section of the Common Application.

Example: If you were in a car accident and, as a result, had to be absent from school for an extended period of time and if, as a result, your academic or extra-curricular performance was compromised, note that in the Additional Information section of the Common App.

• Childcare responsibilities that severely reduced your ability to attend homework or extra-curricular activities 

If your family needed you to look after siblings after school and, as a result, you were unable to participate in extra-curricular activities, you should note that in the Additional Information section of the Common App.

Example: If your parents work late and rely on you to supervise and prepare meals for sisters/brothers after school, and if that work interfered with your participation in extra-curricular activities, you should note that in the Additional Information section of the Common App.

Additional Ways to Use the Additional Information section of the Common App:

You can also use the Additional Information section to list academic information such as AP or SAT Subject test scores that don’t fit in the designated areas on the application. Also use the Additional Information section to list awards and extra-curricular activities that won’t fit in the Activities section of the Common App.

Never use the Additional Information section of the Common App for the following:

• Redundant information, that is any information already included in other parts of your Common Application 

• Explanations of why you stopped one extra-curricular activity and took up another

• Excuses for poor grades. Nobody college admissions officer wants to hear it.

• Grades received in 9^th College admissions officers know that it takes time to adjust to high school so don’t bother them with a mea culpas.

• Elaborations of extra-curricular activities already listed in the Activities section of the Common App. Make what you want to say fit the Activities section character count. Anything else just looks like padding. 

• Information clearly added to try to impress college admissions officers (for example, the number of classic works of literature you read last summer) or that is clearly intended to pull on admissions officers’ heart strings (my brother is a drug addict and life has been tough).

Because of the unprecedented competition for college admission, take time to think what you might include in the Additional Information section of the Common App. If any information will add value to your application, include it!

If you’re not sure what to include in the Additional Information section of the Common App, call me! I’m always ready to help you!

Dr. Osborn works with students from all over the world to help them reach their independent, college, and graduate school goals. Through a personal, one-on-one approach, Dr. Osborn creates an individualized plan for each student based on the student’s strengths, passions, and career aspirations. Her holistic approach helps students perform well in school and secure admission to top colleges.