An Application Opens

A Thespian-Forward Take on the Common Application Process

August 1 has come and gone and with it, the Common Application, and thus, Agnes Scott’s admission process, has once again opened. While it will be some time until we actually jump into applications (Agnes Scott’s first deadline is the November 1 Early Decision deadline), we know that many students are already in the Common Application, starting to fill it out. With that in mind, we present to you this one-act play, presented in its entirety: “A Common Application.”

Scene 1

The inside of a teenager’s bedroom. It is immaculately decorated, but the desk is covered in papers.

IMA STUDENT, a high school senior, sits in front of her laptop. She’s watching the clock on her computer. YOUNGER SIBLING, a high school sophomore, enters the room.

YOUNGER SIBLING

Ima? What are you doing?

IMA STUDENT

I’m waiting for the queue to open! I have to make an account the second it opens.

YOUNGER SIBLING

Oh, Taylor Swift tickets!

IMA SIBLING

No, not Taylor Swift! There’s no way we can actually get those tickets. No, this is something slightly less important: the Common Application opens today.

YOUNGER SIBLING

(Unsure) The application you use to apply to colleges?

IMA SIBLING

Throws hands in air

Yes, the college application! If I don’t immediately start sending out applications I’ll never get in anywhere.

YOUNGER SIBLING

Didn’t you say that the deadlines don’t start until November?

IMA SIBLING

Everyone knows that’s just a test.

YOUNGER SIBLING

Eyes go wide

It is?

IMA SIBLING

Yes! It’s all a test! You have to apply as soon as possible! Your activities list should show down to the second everything you did, even if it’s something you only did for 30 minutes, because the more things on it, the more likely you are to be admitted. Your essay needs to talk about something absolutely heartrending, because it’s bonus points if you make your admission counselor cry. And all of the supplement questions need to be based exactly on the school! I’ve already decided to say on the Agnes Scott application that my favorite book is poetry by Robert Frost because they have a statue of him there.

YOUNGER SIBLING

But you hate poetry?

IMA SIBLING

Of course I do, but that’s the only way you get into college! Now shhhh, it’s going to open any second and I need to push submit in the next ten minutes.

YOUNG SIBLING shrugs and leaves. The time flashes over to midnight. IMA SIBLING begins to type while leaving the stage.

[Exit, pursued by Scottie Dog]

Okay, so maybe this one-act leaned a bit into melodrama. However, these are all things we’ve heard before that students think are important to their application. (For the record, you can submit your application anytime up until the deadlines; you should focus on the activities that mean the most to you; you will not get extra points if you make us cry, just a crying admission counselor, and we’d rather you tell us the truth about your favorite stuff!)

If you’d like some actual application tips, here’s a round-up of some blog posts for you:

Happy application season!

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