Updates to 2024-2025 College Applications

Supplemental essays

The Common Application has returned from the annual reboot and with it comes all the new application deadlines and supplemental college essays. Many colleges have chosen to use the same essay prompts as last year. Many others have changed their prompts. Interestingly, Harvard kept all the same prompt, but changed the word limit sign each of them from 200 to 150. As usual, the University of Chicago takes first prize for the most bizarre essay prompts.

Example:

We’re all familiar with green-eyed envy or feeling blue, but what about being “caught purple-handed”? Or “tickled orange”? Give an old color-infused expression a new hue and tell us what it represents.

Common App Essay

The Common Application’s personal narrative prompts are exactly the same as last year’s.

Application Deadlines

Examples of colleges that have changed their application. Deadlines include Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, and NYU. The application deadlines for all Ivy League colleges remain the same. Most (though not all) colleges have an EA/ED deadline of November 1. The vast majority of colleges have regular decision deadlines in the first week of January, but again there are exceptions.