There are “a lot of common mistakes” college applicants make that are “often not obvious until it’s too late,” says admissions expert Lauren Lynch.
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Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has put an epic journey back home on movie screens. If you’re a high school student searching for an educational home away from home, the college application process can feel like an odyssey of its own. At the start of that journey is the Common App, which opens August 1st for students applying to enter college in fall 2027. It allows you to use one core application to apply to as many as 20 colleges. (You can start now by creating an account and answering the core Common App questions, but you should wait to respond to college-specific questions and writing supplements until the new application cycle formally begins August 1, because requirements can still change.)
The Common App began in 1975 as an experiment among 15 colleges to simplify the application process. Today, roughly 1,100 colleges and universities participate in the nonprofit membership organization. During the 2024-25 application cycle, nearly 1.5 million first-year applicants used the online platform to submit close to 10.2 million applications, up 5% and 8%, respectively, from the previous year.
The platform saves you from repeatedly entering the same information, but that convenience can make the process look simpler than it is. Students can still waste hours—and hundreds of dollars—by applying indiscriminately, paying for unnecessary resume-builders or overlooking requirements that vary by college.
Pay close attention: One application does not necessarily mean one set of requirements. Forbes editorial fellow Asia Alexander, a recent Howard University graduate, learned that when she applied. “To go to Howard, we had to write all those extra essays,” she says. “So you really had to read on Common App.”
Here are six of the biggest Common App myths to stop believing before hitting submit.
Myth No. 1: More Applications Are Better
Just because the Common App allows students to apply to 20 colleges doesn’t mean you should. The average first-year applicant on the site submitted 6.8 applications in 2024-25. “Most students apply to fewer than 10 schools,” Jenny Rickard, president and CEO of Common App, tells Forbes. She advises building a balanced list that includes schools you’re likely to get into, schools that are strong matches for your academic profile and personal goals, and a few “reach” schools where admission is less certain. But only include colleges you would genuinely be happy to attend.
Myth No. 2: A Standout Application Requires Spending A Lot of Money
The application itself does not have to be expensive. Half of Common App’s member colleges—554 as of this writing—do not charge a first-year application fee. (The average fee to apply to one of the 500 schools on Forbes’ 2026 America’s Top Colleges list was roughly $44.) Eligible students can also request a Common App fee waiver or seek a college-specific waiver.
Families can also waste money trying to make a student’s application look more impressive, such as paying for a trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro or to Costa Rica to help build a house. “Some of those opportunities are very relevant to the student,” says Lauren Lynch, director of the College Advising Journey at LogicPrep and a former assistant director of admissions at Williams College. “Others really are just place fillers and show up as that to the reader of the application.” Before paying, you and your family should ask whether an experience truly reflects who you are—not simply whether it could provide material for an essay.
Myth No. 3: Test-Optional Means “Never Submit Scores”
Only 5% of Common App member colleges required scores in the 2025-26 cycle, down from roughly 55% in 2019-20, before the COVID pandemic temporarily disrupted test administration. Yet test-optional is a choice, not an instruction to withhold scores. Through March 1, nearly 750,000 applicants reported a score, which is up 10% from the previous year, while the number not reporting (roughly 686,000) fell 6%. Whether submitting scores helps depends on the student and the college, so Rickard recommends researching each school’s policy and asking its admissions office when the answer is unclear.
Myth No. 4: Only “Traditional” Extracurriculars Belong On Your Application
You do not need to fill all 10 activity slots—or limit yourself to school clubs, teams and formal volunteer work. Jobs, independent pursuits and family responsibilities can reveal just as much. Common App’s Responsibilities and Circumstances section lets you disclose obligations such as caring for siblings or working to help support their family.
Lynch recalls a marathon runner who trained independently five or six days a week but assumed it was not a “real” activity because it was not connected to a school or club. “That is a real activity, and that should be there,” she says. If something consumes your time or helps explain your identity, it deserves another look before being left out.
Myth No. 5: The Essay Is All That Matters
An essay matters, but it cannot erase your academic record. Rickard calls the high school transcript the most important part of the application; Lynch says grades are the “gatekeeper” at most institutions. “You see these services that will say, ‘This essay got me into Yale,’” Rickard says. “Well, that essay didn’t get someone into Yale. It’s the combination of all the factors.”
The essay should reveal something the rest of the application does not and sound unmistakably like you. Having AI—or another person—write it can flatten your voice and violate your required assertion that the work is your own. If you’re intimidated by a blank page, try speaking your ideas into a voice recorder first, Lynch suggests.
Myth No. 6: Once You Hit Submit, You’re Done
Before submitting, proofread everything—including your legal name, which should match the transcript. Once an application or writing supplement has been sent to a college, Common App says it cannot be changed. You can revise answers for other applications you submit later, however.
If a schedule, course or other material fact changes, you should update colleges that already received the application directly. Also, watch for instructions about transcripts, missing documents and applicant portals.
After that, let go of what you cannot control. Rickard notes that only 5% of colleges admit fewer than 20% of their applicants, while 75% of Common App member schools admit more than half. “There are a lot of choices,” she says, “and you actually can go to many of them.”
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