Common App Woes

Common App Woes October 24, 2013 The makers of the Common App. owe high school seniors a major apology. Theres an article on CNN today entitled College application insanity gets worse, written by David L. Marcus. If youre a regular reader of our college admissions blog, the woes of the Common App. gaining press should come as no surprise to you. Marcus starts off by making reference to a potential answer to a hardship college essay question. Heres what hes got: Being a high school senior unnerved by college applications was tough enough until I tried to fill out the Common Application and the site froze, then refused to accept my writing and rejected my teachers recommendations. Marcus is in fact calling the recent Common App. issuesthe Great Crash of 2013. We happen to love what Marcus has written about the Common App.s glitches this fall. This point in particular made us smile: The nonprofit Common Application organization, which serves more than 500 colleges, blames the problems on a software upgrade (maybe created by the same folks who gave us the software for Americas new health insurance?).  This excuse,  in a business that revolves around unforgiving deadlines, is akin to high school kids stating that the dog ate their homework. Surely the Common App executives tested this software? Surely they knew they were dealing with stressed-out students who get nervous when the system simply slows down a bit? Youd think they tested the software! Youd think the Common App. would at the very least take ownership of the Great Crash of 2013. But instead they weasel out and blame their problems on a lame software upgrade. Marcus then gets rather hysterical when he references the Common App.s Tweets of late. Their Tweets are ridiculous and, at times, unintelligible. Youve got to read his analysis of their Tweets. We cant do it justice. Shame on the Common App. for the Great Crash of 2013 and bigger shame on them for failing to own the error of their ways!