Common App – Elite4usa.com

College Admissions | Early Decision

The Early Decision Final Checklist: 7 Things to Confirm Before You Hit Submit (November 1 Deadline)

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee October 24, 2026

At UCLA last fall, nursing admitted 0.5%, computer science 7.3%, and the general College 11%. The major you check works very differently at private universities and at large public universities that admit by school or major. Using official policies from UC, UW, Michigan, UIUC and Purdue, here is how to fill in the major box whether your student has decided or not.

Application Strategy | College Admissions

Undecided or Declared? How the Major Box on the Application Changes Your Odds

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee October 8, 2026October 8, 2026

The Common App has Additional Information (300 words) and Challenges and Circumstances (250 words). The UC application has two Additional Comments boxes (550 characters and 550 words). Four boxes, four different purposes and limits. Here is what belongs in each, and why leaving them blank is often the right call.

Applications | College Admissions

The ‘Additional Information’ Boxes on the Common App and the UC Application — What to Write, and When to Leave Them Blank

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee October 1, 2026

The Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship (up to $55,000 a year) is added in the Common App just like a college. Emory needs one checkbox; WashU and Vanderbilt ask for essays in a separate portal after you apply; and the Financial aid section can match your student to outside awards. Here are the scholarship deadlines that are not your application deadlines: Nov 11, Nov 15, Dec 1, Dec 16.

College Admissions | Scholarships

Scholarships You Can Apply for Through the Common App — The Process Is Simple. Missing It Is the Problem.

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 29, 2026September 29, 2026

The day after the application goes in, senior grades become a second application. Here is how first-quarter grades enter early review, why fall semester grades decide a deferral, what the counselor sends in January, the three reasons an offer gets rescinded, and how to report a schedule change.

College Admissions | Senior Year

Filing the Application Is Not the Finish Line — Senior Fall Grades, the Mid-Year Report, and Rescinded Offers

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 23, 2026September 23, 2026

A final pre-submission checklist for the Common App. Once submitted, a student cannot edit it. Activities character limits, the Honors trap, FERPA and recommender assignment, how deadlines are timed — a practical guide for families ahead of the November 1 early deadlines.

Application Materials | College Admissions

Before You Hit Submit — A 10-Point Final Check for the Common App

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 6, 2026September 6, 2026

A complete guide to teacher recommendation letters for U.S. college applications. How many you need, whom to ask, when and how to ask, what goes in a brag sheet, and why you should waive your FERPA rights — before the November 1 early deadlines.

Application Materials | College Admissions

Teacher Recommendation Letters: September Is Your Last Real Window — Whom to Ask and How

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee September 2, 2026September 6, 2026

Georgia Tech, UNC, UGA, Tulane and others cut supplemental essays for 2026-27, and Yale dropped "Why Yale." Fewer essays does not mean an easier application. Here's how to research and write the "Why Us" essays that remain, why brochure language fails, and what to cut inside 150 to 350 words.

Application Strategy | College Admissions

Supplemental Essays Are Disappearing — Which Makes the Remaining “Why Us” Heavier

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee August 12, 2026

The Common App renamed its Activities section to Activities and Experiences this year. Here's why ten slots is a ceiling and not a quota, how to order them so the first three carry the story, and how to write inside the 150/50/100-character limits.

Application Strategy | College Admissions

Ten Activity Slots: Don’t Fill Them All — The Top Three Are the Application

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee August 5, 2026

Three conditions that tell you whether your family can commit to Early Decision, what USC's new ED plan and the disappearing supplemental essays change this year, and a week-by-week roadmap from August 1 to the November 1 deadline.

College Admissions | Early Applications

Early Decision Is a Contract, Not a Strategy: Decide in August, Submit November 1

ByAndy Lee | Elite Prep Suwanee July 30, 2026