What Goes in the Additional Information Section of the Common App?

There are 24 subsections of the Common App, not including the dozens of other ones within the specific college apps themselves. Thankfully, most of them are straightforward, like activities, grades, testing, demographic data, etc. However, there is one section that seems to trip up even the most resolute high-achieving high school student: the additional information section.

“What do I put in there? Do I need to put something there? It says optional, but you always say there’s nothing optional in the college application process.” Ok, first of all, we don’t like you using our words against us, teens. This is one of the few cases where optional truly means optional. Second, you don’t necessarily need to put something there, but we’ll get into it.

What Information is Worthy of Being Additional?

Okay, so, you know how we always say you don’t need to rehash your traumas and worst-days-ever in your Common App essay? That’s because it might be better suited for the additional information section. We feel that this section is especially important if you had a life event outside of your control that impacted your grades. It doesn’t even necessarily need to be those major life-altering traumas, it can also be new responsibilities or diagnoses that changed the course of your high school career. Essentially, if there is something that you feel is very important for admissions committees to know in order to view your application in the fairest way possible, this would be the place for it. Examples may include:

  • Death of a close family member or friend

  • Experiencing homelessness

  • A guardian becoming incarcerated

  • Becoming a caretaker to a family member

  • Being a victim of a crime

  • A recent ADHD or Autism diagnosis

  • Financial crisis impacting your family

  • Hospitalization or major illness

  • Disability

  • Mental health crisis

  • Repercussions of a natural disaster

Obvi, this is not an all-inclusive list. If one of these things resulted in poor grades or having to take a leave of absence from school, we strongly encourage (read: essentially demand) you to use the additional information section to explain the situation. Unfortunately, it is not the cure-all for bad grades or flunking the 10th grade (even though we think these situations call for grace), but we find that admissions committees appreciate the honesty and transparency and often give students another look-over.

Some of these things may just be integral to who you are and what your life experiences are, and that’s okay. We regular-encourage you to use this section to talk about it. For something like an ADHD diagnosis, that answer will probably look more like ‘I had middling grades in 9th and 10th grade, but once I got access to resources, you can see my grades improved in 11th and 12th,’ rather than the ‘this happened to me, and my grades fell’ replies that the others might prompt.

These should be brief, concise, and to-the-point answers that provide context without too much ~emotion~, even though that’s pretty inherent to these situations.

Can Other Things Go in Additional Information?

Sorta. We have seen students use the additional information section in a variety of ways, not all of them Officially Endorsed™ by TKG. One way our students use this section is to expand upon the additional (pun intended) ways they’ve explored their interests. We often assign online classes to our clients to help them explore their niche, and there isn’t a convenient or even designated place to put these classes into the Common App, but we still want colleges to know! If you took 6 college courses online (even without credit), we think that’s worth mentioning.

We have also seen students with exceptionally robust resumes use this space to expand upon activities they could not fit into their activities section. WARNING: JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE MORE THAN 10 ACTIVITIES DOES NOT MEAN THIS APPLIES TO YOU. SORRY WE HAD TO BOLD THAT. And do all caps. We just want to be clear!!!! This would be ideal for a student who has been very dedicated to their niche interest throughout high school and has been actively engaged in more than 10 activities that serve that interest.

Other things that might be worth mentioning include:

  • Info that didn’t fit into the demographic info, like maybe full family names, all your siblings, etc.

  • Academic context, like if your school doesn’t have a counselor or maybe you’re in the first graduating class of a newly formed school or if your school has some weird new-age grading system we’ve never heard of.

What Shouldn’t I Put in Additional Information?

A second Common App essay. Relisting things you’ve already put in your application. Excuses for bad grades that aren’t those big things we mentioned earlier. Pictures. Weird musings. Your sad poetry. Use your best judgment, teens.

What If I Have Nothing to Add?

Leave it blank, baby.

Now you know what (and what not) to do with your additional information section. When in doubt of your additional information’s value, we say leave it out. If you have something that is truly impactful, you’ll know it.

If you need help strategizing for college admissions, navigating the process, or writing your essays, reach out to us today.