The Additional Information Section of the Common App

Based on conversations that we’ve had with our clients and email submissions from our blog readers, there seems to be some confusion about the intended use of the additional information section on the common app website. Let us start by saying that this blog post will give you guidelines as to what should and should not be included in this section, but we don’t know your life. You should use your best judgment, but before you start writing make sure you’re not just capitalizing on the extra space because you ran out of words elsewhere.

What you can write about:  

Generally speaking, the additional information section is for major life events that affected your life in a meaningful way.

  • This includes (but is not limited to) the following:

  • Health issues of any kind

  • Family issues

  • Disabilities of any kind

  • Abuse

  • Information about your gender identity

  • Homelessness

  • Moving multiple times throughout high school

  • Economic hardship

  • Gaps in your resume or transcript caused by any of the above

Remember that anything you write about should truly be ADDITIONAL information. We don’t recommend dedicating your common app essay to any of the topics above. While we empathize and completely understand that these things are often huge aspects of our lives, they are not the only thing that makes us who we are. But you should absolutely take advantage of the space provided to explain your circumstances. You’ll do that by addressing gaps in your resume, poor attendance rates, and lack of extracurricular activities that were caused by what you’ve dealt with.  

What you shouldn’t write about:

  • One (or a few) bad grades 

  • Lopsided SAT/ACT scores

  • The fact that you didn’t prioritize school until sophomore year

  • Activities that are already listed in activities section, **UNLESS you’ve done a tremendous amount of work that NEEDS clarification.

We understand the desire to clarify these kinds of things, but this section is meant for aspects of students’ lives that were 1) outside of their control and 2) impeded their ability to perform to their fullest.

 

We’re pros at highlighting the strengths of our clients and finding schools that make sense. Contact us here if you’d like to work with someone one-on-one.